Food aid for 1.1Mln Gazans blocked by 'Israel' at crossing: UN
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The UN agency for Palestinian refugees notes that 1,049 containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar and cooking oil have been blocked by the Israeli army.
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Humanitarian aid trucks enter the Gaza Strip from the occupied territories through the "Kerem Shalom" crossing in Rafah on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA (UNRWA) on Saturday reported that "Israel" blocked a food shipment meant for 1.1 million people in Gaza.
"A food shipment for 1.1 million people is stuck at an Israeli port due to recent restrictions from Israeli authorities. 1,049 containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar & cooking oil are stuck as families in Gaza face hunger and starvation," the organization wrote in a post on social media.
"Without @UNRWA there's no supplies, there's no convoys"@JulietteTouma tells @AJEnglish more food supplies are needed to avert famine in📍#Gaza & those supplies are with @UNRWA - but our operations are likely to come to an end in the next few weeks if funding remains suspended. pic.twitter.com/14Y02NdNCs
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 8, 2024
UNRWA stated this week that "Israel" has rejected half of its aid mission requests to northern Gaza this year, alleging the involvement of some UNRWA staff in the October 7 operation.
Earlier in the day, the head of the UN agency Philippe Lazzarini admitted to employing a "reverse due process" approach in dismissing the nine staff members accused by "Israel".
He acknowledged that the employees were terminated before investigating "Israel's" accusations against them and prior to the initiation of any investigation.
During a press conference in al-Quds, when asked about examining evidence against the employees, Lazzarini responded, "No, the investigation is going on now."
He characterized the decision as “reverse due process," adding, “I could have suspended them, but I have fired them. And now I have an investigation, and if the investigation tells us that this was wrong, in that case at the UN we will take a decision on how to properly compensate [them].”
Read more: UNRWA funding suspension 'catastrophic' for Gaza: Heads of UN agencies
Lazzarini explained that he took an "exceptional and swift decision" to terminate the contracts of the staff members based on the highly sensitive nature of the accusations. He emphasized that the agency was under intense scrutiny and criticism, facing "fierce and ugly attacks" while actively delivering aid to almost 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
"Indeed, I have terminated without due process because I felt at the time that not only the reputation but the ability of the entire agency to continue to operate and deliver critical humanitarian assistance was at stake if I did not take such a decision," he said.
"My judgment, based on this going public, true or untrue, was I need to take the swiftest and boldest decision to show that as an agency we take this allegation seriously," he added.
'Gaza is a massive human rights crisis and a humanitarian disaster'
The United Nations has lately warned that “Gaza is a massive human rights crisis and a humanitarian disaster."
Out of a population of 2.3 million, a staggering 1.9 million people have been displaced, creating an environment where there is no haven, it added.
Relentless bombardments by the IOF persist in both the north and the south, particularly in Khan Younis. Compounding the crisis is a severe shortage of essential supplies such as food, water, medicines, tents, and other necessities amid the cold weather.
The existing shelters are overcrowded, and sanitary conditions are appalling, the report added. In areas like Rafah and Khan Younis, sewage is flowing uncontrollably, creating a potential breeding ground for epidemics—"a ticking time bomb" for a health catastrophe, as per the UN.
