Aid efforts to Gaza at ‘breaking point’, UN warns | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The OCHA chief says attacks by both Israeli troops and Palestinian groups are stifling efforts to save lives in the war-torn enclave.
Efforts by United Nations agencies to supply Gaza with humanitarian aid are at a “breaking point”, a senior official has warned.
Aid efforts in Gaza face mounting obstacles Israeli forces continue to attack aid workers amid a breakdown in law and order in the war-torn enclave, the head of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in a statement late on Monday. He also highlighted the threat from armed Palestinian groups.
Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Coordinator, he said: “The reality is that despite our determination to get survivors food, water and medicine, our efforts to save lives are at a breaking point.”
The official noted that an Israeli airstrike seriously injured three people at a known food distribution point where a World Food Program (WFP) partner was operating.
Israeli soldiers also fired more than 16 rounds at a clearly marked UN convoy at a south-to-north checkpoint on Sunday, he added.
Armed Palestinian gangs are also disrupting operations. They hijacked six fuel tankers coming in from the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, leaving aid agencies with almost no fuel for relief operations, Fletcher said.
“There is no meaningful civil order. Israeli forces are unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of our convoys. The statements of the Israeli authorities denigrate our humanitarian workers even though the army is attacking them. Community volunteers who accompany our convoys are targeted. Now there is a perception that it is dangerous to protect aid convoys, but it is safe to rob them,” said Fletcher.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed at least 45,854 Palestinians and wounded 109,139 as of October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during attacks led by Hamas that day, and about 250 were captured.
OCHA also expressed deep concern after another baby froze to death in Gaza on Monday due to hypothermia and Israel’s restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, including tents, blankets, mattresses and other supplies for displaced Palestinians.
“These deaths could have been prevented if the items needed to protect these children had been available to their families,” the statement said.
UN agencies estimate that around 1.6 million people in Gaza live in makeshift shelters that do not protect them from the winter cold, with nearly half a million in flood-prone areas. Gaza authorities say about 110,000 of the 135,000 tents used as shelters in the Strip are dilapidated and unusable.
Fletcher called on UN member states to ensure the protection of all civilians and all humanitarian operations.
“This should not be said,” he insisted.
