UNRWA warns that Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) says more than 50,000 children in the Gaza Strip need immediate medical treatment for acute malnutrition.
In a statement on Saturday, the agency noted that “with continued restrictions on humanitarian access, the people of Gaza continue to face desperate levels of hunger. “UNRWA teams are working tirelessly to reach families with help, but the situation is catastrophic.”
Due to continued restrictions on humanitarian access, people in #Loop They continue to face desperate levels of hunger. More than 50,000 children need treatment for acute malnutrition@OOPS Teams are working tirelessly to reach families with help, but the situation is catastrophic. #CeaseFireNow pic.twitter.com/FwmsjrqmRW
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) June 15, 2024
UNICEF spokesman James Elder also described how difficult it is to not only get aid to Gaza, but also distribute it throughout the war-torn coastal enclave.
“More humanitarian workers have died in this war than in any other war since the arrival of the UN,” he told Al Jazeera.
On Wednesday, UNICEF was on a mission to drive a truck full of medical and nutritional supplies to 10,000 children, Elder said. His task was to deliver the aid, which was pre-approved by Israeli authorities, from Deir el-Balah to Gaza City, a 40-kilometer (25-mile) round trip.
“It took us 13 hours and we spent eight of them at checkpoints, arguing over paperwork: 'was it a truck or a van,'” he said.
“The reality is that this truck was denied access. “Those 10,000 children did not receive that help…Israel, as the occupying power, has the legal responsibility to provide that help.”
One of the main land crossings at Rafah has been closed since Israeli forces seized the area early last month. The move has raised fears of famine in southern and central Gaza.
The deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme, Carl Skau, spent two days assessing the plight of the Palestinians this week and said the challenges are “like nothing I have ever seen”.
”The situation in southern Gaza is deteriorating rapidly. One million people in southern Gaza are trapped without clean water and sanitation in a highly congested area along the beach in the scorching summer heat. We drove through rivers of sewage,” Skau said.
For months, right-wing Israelis have been protesting and blocking roads to prevent aid shipments from reaching Gaza, further limiting the flow of desperately needed aid to the territory.
On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on an Israeli “violent extremist” group for blocking and damaging humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza. The Group of Seven leaders also emphasized that UN agencies must work unhindered in Gaza.
UNRWA, which coordinates almost all aid to Gaza, has also been in crisis since January, when Israel accused a dozen of its 13,000 employees in Gaza of being involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
This claim led many nations, including the largest donor, the United States, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has repeatedly said that Israeli moves to cut off funding are “additional collective punishment” for Palestinians already recovering from continued Israeli bombing.
