GENEVA: As the risk of famine grows, and more people are exposed to deadly disease outbreaks, a fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is urgently needed, United Nations agencies warned today.
The heads of the World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that getting enough supplies into and across Gaza now depends on the opening of new entry routes; ‘more trucks being allowed through border checks each day; fewer restrictions on the movement of humanitarian workers; and guarantees of safety for people accessing and distributing aid,’ said a joint press release.
‘Without the ability to produce or import food, the entire population of Gaza relies on aid to survive. But humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the essential needs of the Gaza people. The United Nations, international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have so far managed to deliver limited humanitarian assistance in Gaza, despite extraordinarily difficult conditions, but the qu
antities fall far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition, and disease. The shortage of food, clean water, and medical assistance is particularly severe in the northern areas,’ read the release.
The joint release stressed that humanitarian action is seriously limited by the closure of all but two border crossings in the south and the multi-layered vetting process for trucks coming into Gaza.
‘People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food,’ said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. ‘Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are.’
‘The flow of aid has been a trickle in comparison to a sea of humanitarian needs,’ said Phillip Lazzarini, Commissioner General for the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). ‘Humanitarian aid will not be enough to reverse the worsening hunger among the population. Commercial supplies
are a must to allow the markets and private sector to re-open and provide an alternative to food accessibility.’
‘Children at high risk of dying from malnutrition and disease desperately need medical treatment, clean water and sanitation services, but the conditions on the ground do not allow us to safely reach children and families in need,’ said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. ‘Some of the material we desperately need to repair and increase water supply remain restricted from entering Gaza. The lives of children and their families are hanging in the balance. Every minute counts.’
On October 9, two days after the start of the aggression, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. ‘There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,’ he stated.
Since October 7 of last year, the Israeli occupation has launched a brutal air, sea, and ground aggression against the people in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing, wounding and missing of 1
00,000 people. The aggression inflicted an unprecedented scale of destruction to buildings, facilities and infrastructure in Gaza and caused the health system to collapse.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA