Only 6% of Gaza food needs met amid ongoing crisis: UNRWA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
Today 09:53

UNRWA highlights the suffering of over two million forcibly displaced people in Gaza facing hunger, thirst, disease, and fear.

Palestinians line up for food during in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, on January 9, 2024. (AP)

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has confirmed that the food supplies entering Gaza are meeting only six percent of the population's needs, as reported by the Palestinian Information Centre.

According to UNRWA, the Israeli occupation permits only limited quantities of flour and food supplies through the crossings, which cover just six percent of the required needs. This has created a severe crisis in Gaza, especially in accessing bread, causing many bakeries in the southern region of the enclave to close down.

The agency also highlighted the suffering of over two million forcibly displaced people in Gaza, who face hunger, thirst, disease, and fear. Families are struggling to secure meals, with conditions in displacement camps and shelters worsening due to hunger, cold, and a lack of sufficient international aid amid severe food shortages. UNRWA has called for the full reopening of crossings to allow essential supplies to prevent widespread famine, as malnutrition and disease are already spreading.

This is happening as northern Gaza is experiencing particularly harsh conditions, with severe shortages of drinking water, medicines, and food supplies. The ongoing blockade on humanitarian aid, combined with airstrikes, artillery shelling, land leveling, and demolitions, has worsened the humanitarian crisis.

Deluge and destruction: Gaza tents flooded amid escalating strikes

Heavy rains have inundated displacement tents across the Gaza Strip, compounding the already dire conditions for Palestinians as Israeli attacks intensify.

The Palestinian Civil Defense warned on Monday that the arrival of winter is ushering in "a real humanitarian catastrophe." Thousands of forcibly displaced individuals have been severely impacted by flooding, prompting urgent calls for global intervention to deliver humanitarian aid to the struggling population.

The Gaza Government has reiterated its plea to the international community and humanitarian organizations to take swift action.

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal highlighted the devastating impact of the recent rains, saying, “Rainfall has caused severe damage to tents housing thousands of displaced people, with water flowing inside the tents and damaging luggage and mattresses."

"The current situation signals a real humanitarian catastrophe if immediate intervention does not take place,” he stressed.

The Gaza Government Media Office reported that "nearly 10,000 tents were swept away by seawater and damaged over the past two days." It warned that the onset of winter and worsening storm conditions threaten the lives of "hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip."

In a statement, the office called for urgent humanitarian aid, saying, “We urgently repeat our call for immediate humanitarian aid to save hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip before it's too late.”

Since October 2023, forcible displacement caused by Israeli military actions has surged, with the number of forcibly displaced individuals in Gaza now approaching 2 million. The statement accused "Israel" of committing crimes of forced displacement, stating, “These individuals have been displaced more than five consecutive times and are enduring harsh conditions imposed by the occupation.”

There are currently 543 shelter and displacement centers across Gaza. However, the Media Office reported that "81 percent of the displaced persons’ tents are now unusable," with 110,000 out of 135,000 tents completely deteriorated. These tents, made of fabric and nylon, have been rendered ineffective by harsh weather and prolonged exposure to Gaza’s challenging climate.

“Gaza is facing a deep crisis and a real humanitarian catastrophe as winter sets in and the challenging weather conditions worsen. As a result, 2 million people will soon be left without any shelter, forced to live on the ground and under the sky because of the unusable tents and the closure of Gaza’s border crossings," the office further warned.

The Gaza Government has urged the global community to pressure "Israel" into allowing the entry of 250,000 tents and caravans currently blocked by Israeli occupation forces. It condemned what it described as Israeli atrocities, including "forced displacement, mass expulsion, genocide, systematic killing, and forcing 2 million displaced people to leave their homes for unsuitable, unsafe, and inhumane areas with inadequate tents."

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal appealed to the United Nations and international agencies for immediate provision of tents and caravans to protect forcibly displaced civilians during winter.

As the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues, Palestinian health authorities said that so far 44,235 Palestinians have been martyred and another 104,638 have been injured, since October 7, 2023.

Several thousand others remain missing, as authorities cannot determine their whereabouts. Many bodies remain stuck under the rubble or stranded in the streets, while others have been abducted by occupation forces.