The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told a UN emergency meeting “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions”, accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians. Philippe Lazzarini warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest UN agency in Gaza to continue operating”. Briefings to the Security Council by Mr Lazzarini, the head of the UN children’s agency Unicef, and a senior UN humanitarian official,...