UN officials have accused Israel of “systematically” blocking aid to desperate Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, warning that at least a quarter of the enclave's population will starve without urgent action. He warned that the situation was one step away from disaster.
Tuesday's warning came as footage from northern Gaza showed Israeli forces firing again at Palestinians who had gathered to collect food in the area.
It was not immediately clear whether the shooting resulted in any death or injury.
Israel's war in Gaza, now in its fifth month, has left at least 29,878 Palestinians dead, most of them women and children. The attacks began after Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, launched attacks into Israeli territory on October 7, killing around 1,139 people and taking 253 prisoners.
Subsequent Israeli military operations, which included daily air raids, ground attacks on northern and central Gaza, and the closure of all but one crossing point into the territory, devastated much of the Palestinian enclave and left the caused the crisis to worsen.
“As of the end of February, at least 576,000 people in Gaza, a quarter of the population, were on the brink of starvation,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, deputy director of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA). United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
He told a meeting on food security in Gaza that one in six children under the age of two in northern Gaza suffers from acute malnutrition and wasting, and that nearly all of the Palestinian enclave's 2.3 million people are “grossly inadequate.” ''He said he was living on food aid.
“If nothing is done, widespread hunger in Gaza is almost inevitable, and we fear that the conflict will result in even more casualties,” he said.
Mr. Rajasingham added that the United Nations and aid groups face “overwhelming obstacles to getting even the bare minimum of supplies into Gaza.” These include the closure of intersections, restrictions on movement and communication, cumbersome vetting procedures, disturbances, road damage and unexploded ordnance, he said.
In Geneva, another OCHA spokesman, Jens Ralke, told reporters that Israel's actions had made it nearly impossible to get aid to Gaza.
“Aid convoys have faced criticism and access to people in need has been systematically denied. Humanitarian workers have been harassed, intimidated and detained by the Israeli military, and humanitarian infrastructure has been disrupted. “We're taking a hit,” he said.
The World Food Program (WFP) said it is “ready to quickly expand and scale up operations if a ceasefire is agreed.”
Meanwhile, “the inability to bring critical food supplies into Gaza in sufficient quantities and the near-impossible working conditions faced by staff on the ground further increase the risk of starvation,” WFP said. Executive Director Karl Skau said. UNSC.
“If nothing changes, famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” he added.
WFP announced earlier this month that food aid to northern Gaza has been cut off almost completely since late October after a convoy was hit by Israeli gunfire and looted by desperately starving Palestinians. delivery has been canceled.
The United Nations agency says all planned aid convoys into the northern territory have been rejected by Israeli authorities in recent weeks. The last time people were allowed to enter the country was on January 23, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said hundreds of trucks loaded with aid were waiting at the Gaza-Egypt border.
Stéphane Dujarric told reporters: “Our WFP colleagues have confirmed that there is food supply on the border with Gaza and that, given certain conditions, food supplies can be extended to up to 2.2 million people across the Gaza Strip. I'm talking about it,” he said.
“Almost 1,000 trucks loaded with 15,000 tons of food are ready for movement in Egypt,” he said.
But Israel denied blocking the aid.
Speaking at the Security Council, Israel's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Jonathan Miller, countered that “Israel is not stopping these trucks,” and instead said the responsibility lies with the United Nations, which should help “more effectively.” He said that it is necessary to distribute.
“There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can be sent to civilians in Gaza,” he said, adding that since the beginning of 2024, Israel has rejected only 16 percent of requests for aid, but those requests He added that this was for a number of reasons. The cargo could end up in the hands of Hamas.
The desperate situation in Gaza drew condemnation from the United States.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood called on ally Israel to keep border crossings open and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. [the] More intersections will open.
“Simply put, Israel must do more,” he said. “We continue to call on Israel to improve its collision avoidance procedures to ensure the safe and secure movement of aid.”