ICRC ready to boost aid to Gaza if crossings-blockade lifted: Official
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A senior ICRC official tells Sputnik that steps need to be taken to ensure entry and exit of humanitarian personnel to Gaza and for medical evacuations out of the Strip.
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An Israeli soldier patrols the Karem Abu Salem Crossing after "Israel" shut it down and banned the entry of aid tucks as part of the blockade on Gaza, on December 22, 2023. (AP)
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it is prepared to substantially boost humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip once restrictions at vital crossing points are lifted, the head of the ICRC regional delegation for Russia and Belarus, Boris Michel, told Sputnik.
The Israeli occupation almost completely closed down all land routes supplying aid to Gaza, which is now struggling with imminent famine after the IOF's launch of a new wide-scale aggression across the Strip, with the genocide nearing its nine-month mark.
Read more: Harrowing tales of torture inside 'Israel's' Sde Teiman prison: NYT
The Karem Abu Salem and Rafah crossings have been completely shut down, affecting over 1.5 million Palestinians in northern Gaza who depend on both passageways to receive scarce aid. Concurrently, Israeli forces started an invasion of Rafah, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians again to areas with very limited access to basic needs, including drinking water and food.
"We cannot overstate the need for sustained humanitarian relief, given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. As soon as conditions allow, ICRC is prepared to significantly step up its assistance," Michel said on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia.
Read more: UN runs out of tents, food in southern Gaza due to Israeli blockade
The ICRC official acknowledged the new phase of the Israeli siege, pointing out that it disrupted the delivery of relief aid, including essential supplies into the Strip, and held the parties "controlling" the entry point responsible for permitting the aid to cross.
"It is necessary to reinstate the steps that had been taken to increase the flow of aid, including essential humanitarian supplies into Gaza. In addition, steps need to be taken to ensure entry and exit of humanitarian personnel to Gaza, and for medical evacuations out of the Strip," he said.
Mid-July deadline
Over one million people – half of the population of Gaza – are expected to face death, starvation, and "catastrophic conditions" by mid-July, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations warned on Wednesday amid the ongoing Israeli siege on the Strip.
FAO pointed out that this figure would be a result of "the devastating impact" of the ongoing war, "the heavy restrictions on access and goods, and the collapse of local agrifood systems."
The UN agency warned that the war "is expected to further aggravate the unprecedented death toll, widespread destruction and displacement of nearly the total population in the Gaza Strip," especially if the aggression on Rafah is expanded.
Gaza children facing starvation
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned earlier this week that insufficient aid is reaching Palestinians in Gaza, leading to a dire situation where children are facing starvation.
FAO has also expressed the same fear, stating that malnutrition rates had doubled since January 2024 in the Gaza Strip's northern governorates, "with 1 in 3 children under 2 years of age being affected."
OCHA urged "Israel" to adhere to international law by facilitating the safe passage of life-saving relief into the Gaza Strip.
Read more: Children under 5 in Gaza go at least 1 in 3 days without food: Reports
On Tuesday, Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean regional director, mentioned that "inside Gaza, there are people who are now eating animal food, eating grass, they're drinking sewage water."
"Children are barely able to eat, while the trucks are standing outside of Rafah," she said.
