Israel's war of starvation ramps up further
Israel says no more UNRWA food convoys to north Gaza: Lazzarini
The head of the UN’s Palestine refugee agency says Israel informed the UN that it will no longer approve any aid convoys run by UNRWA.
“This is outrageous [and] makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine. These restrictions must be lifted”, Philippe Lazzarini wrote in an X post.
He warned that the move will speed up the coming of famine in the north of the Strip, and said that “many more will die of hunger, dehydration”. Famine is likely to occur by May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July, the world’s hunger watchdog, known as the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), said last week.
The IPC said 70 percent of people in parts of northern Gaza were suffering the most severe level of food shortage, more than triple the 20 percent threshold to be considered famine. In all, 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza, about half the population, were experiencing “catastrophic” shortages of food.
And the ICJ remains silent, nothing since March 15th, no response to Israel's duties to inform on what measures they're taking.
https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192
https://www.icj-cij.org/case/193
Blocking @UNRWA from delivering food is in fact denying starving people the ability to survive. This decision must be urgently reversed. The levels of hunger are acute. All efforts to deliver food should not only be permitted but there should be an immediate acceleration of food… https://t.co/JxuipvVK41
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 24, 2024
UNRWA says US funding cut will ‘compromise access to food’ in Gaza
The US’s decision to cut hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) will have serious implications for Palestinians in Gaza and the region.
“In Gaza, the humanitarian community is racing against the clock to avert famine. As the backbone of the humanitarian response, any gap in funding to UNRWA will compromise access to food, shelter, primary health care & education at a time of deep trauma,” the organisation’s chief, Philippe Lazzarini, wrote on X.
“Palestine Refugees are counting on the international community to step up support to meet their basic needs.”
Washington, the UN agency’s largest donor, cut its funding until March 2025 after an Israeli claim that about a dozen of UNRWA’s thousands of staff participated in the October 7 attacks.
The US foreign aid spending bill for 2024 limits funding to @UNRWA until March 2025.⁰This decision will have implications for Palestine Refugees in #Gaza & the region.⁰⁰I appreciate our committed supporters in the US Congress who advocated on behalf of UNRWA during this…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 24, 2024
Don't worry, the US will airdrop avg 60,000 meals every other day....
Any country brave enough to file charges against the USA at the ICJ?
Oh, I overestimated, 13,000 meal equivalents
US military announces new aid airdrop with Jordan over northern Gaza
As Israel blocks the UN from sending aid to northern Gaza via crucial land crossings, the US is announcing a new airdrop over the area in cooperation with the Jordanian air force.
The US army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that it used a C-130 military cargo plane to drop 13,080 meal equivalents, including rice, flour, milk, pasta and canned foods.
The US military also said the airdrops, which the UN and aid organisations have said are not nearly enough to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, will continue.
13,000 meals for 700 thousand people...
Essay Pro