YORK: In accordance with UN data and authorities, the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza from Egypt has all but stopped during the last two weeks, and the distribution of the food that does make it through has become more challenging.
Statistics on a daily basis reveal a sharp decline in humanitarian aid reaching Gaza since February 9; the region’s 2.3 million internally displaced people are experiencing catastrophic levels of starvation.
Prior to the conflict, Gaza depended on 500 trucks a day to bring in supplies, and even during the fierce fighting in January, most days about 200 relief trucks managed to get through.
However, the UN numbers show that the daily average dropped to just 57 trucks between February 9 and 20. Twenty or less trucks managed to pass on seven of those twelve days, with only four trucks passing on February 17.
Deliveries among Egypt and Gaza via the Rafah Crossing have all but stopped. Even though there have occasionally been more trucks passing into Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, Israeli protesters have often blocked these deliveries. From February 8–10 and February 15–17, the crossing was blocked.
Israel, which inspects every truck entering Gaza through both crossings, says it is ready to expedite the processing of supplies and holds the UN responsible for the decline in delivery.
Colonel Moshe Tetro, Head of Israel’s Coordination along with Liasion Administration for Gaza, stated at a press conference that “we are prepared to do anything to facilitate the arrival of tens, if not hundreds of containers every day.” “The Israeli side is not the bottleneck.”
He added that relief goods for international organizations to deliver in Gaza were waiting in 450 trucks on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom gate.
“I believe that the distribution will be much better if there is adequate and effective work being done inside Gaza by the international community.” The UN claims that due of the breakdown of security across the Gaza Strip, where the majority of people are currently confined to improvised settlements, it is getting harder to deliver supplies inside the region. Now that they control most of Gaza, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troops are in charge of ensuring that relief convoys travel through areas safely.
“It is the IDF’s duty to support humanitarian efforts within Gaza. The UN humanitarian affairs office’s Eri Kaneko stated, “Aiding piling up at the crossing provides proof of a lack of this supportive atmosphere amidst enormous needs.”
“A breakdown in law and order and safety concerns have prevented the UN and our humanitarian partners from regularly picking up supplies from the crossing points,” the spokesperson stated. “Despite this, in order to continue delivering humanitarian supplies that are vital to civilian survival, our colleagues have been incurring significant risks.” According to UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma, Palestinian police have ceased escorting assistance convoys after Israeli strikes claimed the lives of at least eight police officers.
Desperate Gazanos have stopped convoys so they can take supplies off of vehicles.
According to Jonathan Fowler, a UNRWA spokesman, “when food comes in directly from convoys, it’s usually because of utter hopelessness, and individuals even eating it on the spot.”
Two days after they resumed, the UN World Food Programme announced on Tuesday that it was stopping restricted deliveries to the northern part of Gaza due to incidents involving their convoys: crowds trying to jump onboard trucks, gunshots in Gaza City, wheat being seized, and a truck driver being beaten. According to UNRWA, it was previously able to send aid to the Gaza Strip’s northern region on January 23.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
