'Israel' increasingly denies aid deliveries into Gaza: OCHA
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The occupation continues to deny the passage of the majority of aid deliveries attempting to reach Gaza, mainly the ones carrying aid for hospitals.
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Humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip, seen on a truck at a holding area at the "Kerem Shalom" Crossing, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 (AP)
Deliveries to northern and central Gaza are deliberately and increasingly being denied by the Israeli occupation in the second half of January as a result of excessive delays for humanitarian aid convoys before or at Israeli checkpoints, in addition to the heightened aggression in central Gaza, OCHA revealed in its latest update.
The organization declared that 51 aid delivery missions were planned between 1 and 25 January, but only eight were allowed and 29 were denied, while others were only “partially facilitated” or postponed, adding that most of the approved missions were related to the delivery of food aid, while those that carry the much-needed support for hospitals was “largely denied”.
In an “emerging pattern", another eight planned missions were initially approved but then “impeded” as routes designated by the IOF "turned out to be impassable" or the missions had excessive delays applied to them before departure or at checkpoints.
OCHA also stated that humanitarian deliveries to central Gaza had increasingly been postponed since mid-January due to increased IOF activity in which none of 22 requests by the UN to the IOF urging for opening checkpoints near north of Wadi Gaza were approved.
The organization emphasized that access to these checkpoints holds major value as the UN warehouses are heavily congested and "early movement is essential for security, programmatic and protection reasons."
It also noted once again that Israeli occupation forces are carrying “widespread attacks on health care facilities and workers."
Palestinians and aid workers are both at huge risk
These warnings are not new, with the repeated calls still falling on deaf ears.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated on January 16 that the occupation has been denying access to aid missions delivering medicine and fuel to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
In the first two weeks of January, according to OCHA, only 24% of planned aid missions delivering basic human needs from food, medicine, and water were able to enter Gaza.
In addition, around 95% of missions involving the allocation of fuel and medicines to water reservoirs were stopped and denied access to enter by the occupation. Out of the latter, five missions were to aid the Central Drug Store, four to Jabalia Medical Center, and eight to aid four critical reservoirs and water and waste pumps.
In at least two reported instances, occupation forces detained and attacked convoy members. This, along with the deliberate prevention of aid by the occupation, shows that the behavior of the IOF is compromising the capacity of humanitarian agencies to operate safely and effectively, according to OCHA.
Other UN agencies, the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), urged the opening of new routes that would allow the passage of humanitarian aid while ensuring the safety of Palestinians and aid workers.
