The flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza has decreased Humanitarian aid
Amid reports of street fighting and Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, UN humanitarian agencies warned that the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave has fallen by more than two-thirds since the Israeli military stepped up its campaign in Rafah and captured a key help channel.
“Humanitarian facilities in Rafah are forced to close one by one… The flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, already insufficient to meet growing needs, has decreased by 67 percent since May 7,” OCHA said.
The Israeli military said it had secured “tactical control” of a narrow 13-kilometer stretch of land between the Gaza Strip and Egypt known as the Philadelphia Corridor. According to media reports, an IDF spokesman previously said that there were rocket launchers there that were used to attack Israel.
Having established control of the corridor, the Israeli military closed the border crossing ” Rafah” in the south of the strip, which served as a key entry point for food, water, fuel and medicine into Gaza. It also transported the sick and wounded for treatment.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned that the agency “cannot do much in Rafah at this time as supplies are very are small and mobility is severely limited.”
The West Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza is “functional but not secure,” according to WFP. Gate 96 and Erez checkpoints are also inaccessible, and access to the southern parts of Gaza is limited.
Israeli authorities also said Wednesday that fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue at least until the end of the year.
Dire humanitarian situation
Eight months after the start of the Israeli military operation, Gaza’s entire population of 2.2 million is dependent on humanitarian aid, including food.
Although relief supplies have been delivered to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah, UN humanitarian officials have repeatedly stressed that delivering aid to the area is fraught with danger and is difficult given ongoing hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance and fuel shortages.
“Adults and children are extremely exhausted from constant displacement, hunger and fear. They desperately need an end to the war,” the WFP said.
UN officials have repeatedly reminded Israel of its responsibility as an occupying power to ensure that aid reaches people in need – in accordance with international humanitarian law.
“We need all border crossings and border crossings in the Gaza Strip to be open,” the WFP said. The agency also notes that although some commercial goods have reached the enclave, many people cannot afford to buy them due to high prices.
Aid distribution in the north and central parts of Gaza
The WFP also reports that in the north of the enclave the population receives food rations, wheat flour, hot meals.
The agency supports the work of bakeries. There are currently only four bakeries operating in Gaza City. One bakery has recently opened in Jabaliya and its bread, in particular, is shipped to the north. Of the 17 bakeries that WFP supports in the Gaza Strip, only 11 operate. In the central areas of the Gaza Strip, WFP provides hot meals to the population. Aid is now distributed faster thanks to a new registration mechanism that allows people to update their location.
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