Israel ‘has taken Palestinian people and international law hostage’: Jordan
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, says “failure by the international community to act has allowed Israel to violate international law and use starvation as a method of war” in Gaza.
Safadi made his comments during a visit from the UN’s Senior Humanitarian Coordinator Sigrid Kaag, with whom he discussed efforts to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged coastal enclave.
“Numerous UN organizations have warned that little to no supplies are entering Gaza, particularly northern Gaza, where famine is the brutal reality,” Safadi said. “Yet Israel is maintaining the siege. This brutality should not stand. The aggression has to end. Supplies must be allowed into Gaza.”
I discussed efforts to ensure delivery of life-saving humanitarian supplies to Gaza with the UN’s Senior Humanitarian Coordinator @SigridKaag. Immediate action is needed to end the humanitarian catastrophe the Israeli aggression has brought on Gaza. Numerous UN organizations have… https://t.co/sexkedbJnQ
— Ayman Safadi (@AymanHsafadi) November 19, 2024
Emergency vehicles cease operations over fuel shortages
Gaza’s civil defence agency says most of its emergency vehicles have ceased operations because of a lack of fuel.
“We declare the cessation of operations for most civil defence vehicles in Gaza governorate due to insufficient fuel. Currently, we are operating with only one water tanker and one rescue vehicle,” the agency said in a statement.
Since mid-November, emergency crews have been unable to respond to many citizen distress calls or reach sites of Israeli attacks
“We warn of the expansion and consolidation of the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip due to the continued depletion of fuel, especially with the displacement of thousands of citizens from the northern Gaza Strip,” it said.
UN: Palestinians in north Gaza face ‘diminishing survival conditions’
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs provided its latest situation update on Gaza.
Here are key points from the report:
- Palestinians in northern Gaza face “diminishing conditions for survival” as all UN efforts to provide support have been “denied or impeded” by Israel’s military.
- Between 100,000-131,000 people displaced from north Gaza have relocated to different parts of central Gaza City.
- The number of households in central and southern Gaza experiencing severe hunger is rapidly increasing.
