Malta’s UN envoy challenges Israel’s claims on aid trucks
Vanessa Frazier, the permanent representative of Malta to the UN, has pushed back against Israel’s claim that it is allowing aid into Gaza.
“Don’t be fooled by these numbers,” Frazier said in a post on X, referring to an Israeli military tweet that said some 1,290 humanitarian trucks had entered the war-torn enclave in the past week.
“Prior to the war on #gaza over 500 aid trucks entered Gaza daily,” Frazier said.
Israel’s claim came as concern grows over an imminent famine in Gaza, especially in the north, as the Israeli military continues to restrict aid into the blockaded territory. In addition to blocking aid, Israeli forces have also destroyed most local food sources in Gaza, including farms, orchards and fishing boats.
Malta joined 14 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council last month to call for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in a resolution that was blocked by the United States.
Five aid trucks lost in Gaza due to armed looting, says WFP
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says that yesterday, it attempted to bring in 40 trucks on behalf of humanitarian partners through the Gate 96 checkpoint – which Israel claims was opened for humanitarian purposes in March – but was faced with violent, armed looting, resulting in the deaths of two community members.
It said five trucks were lost due to the armed looting.
As we reported earlier, Gaza’s Government Media Office addressed the incident in a statement, accusing the WFP of, “violating the correct protocol followed and implemented in securing aid trucks,” but did not provide details or elaborate on what the WFP allegedly did.
For over two weeks, “nearly all movement of aid through crossings in south and central Gaza has resulted in violence, looting, and tragic deaths” due to attacks and the absence of law and order along convoy routes inside Gaza, the WFP said.
In the statement the WFP called on “all parties to the conflict” uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, specifically enabling the protection of the civilian population, and safe passage of the humanitarian assistance they require for survival.
“Above all, a ceasefire is needed,” it said.
In Gaza, 80 percent of households have at least one child going without food, says UNRWA
The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has reiterated its call for a ceasefire in a post on X. UNRWA assists nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Israel will ban UNRWA operations in the country starting in late January.
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