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SvennoJ on 23 March 2024
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Israel denied food convoy entrance to northern Gaza for second time this week: UNRWA

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, has said that a food convoy has been denied access to northern Gaza for the second time this week. In a tweet, Lazzarini said the last time the UNRWA was able to deliver aid to the northern part of the enclave, where starvation is spreading, was two months ago.

“This is a man made hunger & looming famine which can still be averted,” he said. “The Israeli Authorities must allow delivering food aid at scale to the north including via UNRWA, the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza.”



Israeli FM urges more countries to cut funding to UNRWA

The Israeli foreign minister has urged “more countries to follow the US and ban funding” to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. His remarks come after the funding of UNRWA was banned in the US as part of a $1.2 trillion spending package that passed in the Congress overnight.

Israel Katz said on X: “The historic ban on US funding to UNRWA that passed today with an overwhelming bipartisan support, demonstrates what we knew all along: UNRWA is part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution. UNRWA will not be a part of Gaza’s landscape in the aftermath of Hamas.”

“Thousands of UNRWA employees are involved in Hamas terror activities and their facilities were used for terrorist purposes,” he claimed. “I urge more countries to follow the US and ban funding to this organization.”

Some 7,000 trucks are waiting in North Sinai to enter Gaza: Governor

North Sinai Governor Mohamed Shusha has said some 7,000 trucks are waiting in the region to deliver aid to Gaza. Shusha said inspection procedures demanded by Israel had held up the flow of relief, according to a statement from his office.

Shusha is accompanying UN chief Antonio Guterres, who is expected to arrive at Egypt’s border with Gaza later in the day.

 

Guterres visit shines spotlight on need of humanitarian aid entering Gaza

The visit of the UN chief reiterates the importance of a ceasefire and the smooth flow of aid into Gaza. In the past weeks, we have seen attacks on aid workers; dozens of people have been killed in these attacks.

There have been deliberate attacks on distribution points organised by UNRWA, and the traumatised population of Gaza is now confronted with the prospect of an expansion of the ground operation to Rafah.

There are miles of humanitarian trucks lining up on the Egyptian side that are unable to cross over into Gaza and deliver much-needed food to the population, especially to the northern part of the Strip, where at least 27 children have died so far because of starvation.

Starvation crisis getting worse by the hour

In the past, we used to say it’s getting worse by the day but right now, things are going from bad, to worse, to terrible. Across the border, on the other side, there are miles of trucks filled with food and essential supplies for people who are in desperate need for them.

It’s important to note that we don’t see most of the humanitarian aid trucks coming into Gaza because of the ongoing blockade on the crossings. All the physical land crossings have been artificially closed by the Israeli military preventing the supplies from coming in.

There are also the ongoing constant attacks on aid trucks as well as on aid seekers and aid workers, just hindering the work of anyone trying to help Palestinians in the northern and the southern part of Gaza.

The ongoing practices on the ground, coupled with the intense bombing campaign have been the major reasons for the situation to get so bad. And the only solution to this, as UNRWA’s boss Philippe Lazzarini has stated, is flooding Gaza with life-saving goods and an immediate ceasefire.


Palestinians gather to receive aid outside an UNRWA warehouse as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger