UNRWA head says the ranks of the abject poor rose from 100,000 to 300,000, i.e. one resident in five. About 80,000 families have applied for extra assistance because of a “man-made crisis” and a “political failure”.

Gaza (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The number of Gazans living in "abject" poverty has tripled this year to 300,000, or one in five residents, said John Ging (pictured, on the left), the Gaza head of the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), on Thursday.

Ging told reporters that the situation in the territory has become “unbearable” as a result of the border blockade imposed after Hamas violently seized control of the territory in 2007.

“The humanitarian situation here in Gaza continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate for the ordinary poor citizens,” Ging said. “At the start of this year, there were 100,000 people that were in our special hardship category, now we have another 200,000”.

The UNRWA chief also reported that 80,000 families, for a total of 400,000 Palestinian refugees, had applied to UNRWA for extra assistance.

“The suffering, the impoverishment, the misery of the people here in Gaza continues to rise because of a man-made crisis, a political failure,” Ging said.

UNRWA provides services, including emergency food rations, to 750,000 of Gaza's 1.4 million residents.

Families unable to feed themselves are considered “abject poor” and receive extra aid.

• palestine
• gaza
• border
• blockade
• hamas
• abject
• poverty