UN OCHA: IOF preventing aid delivery into Gaza, aid workers at risk
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UN agencies are looking for new routes that would allow the delivery of aid while ensuring the safety of their workers.
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Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the northern Gaza Strip play next to the border with Egypt, in Rafah, southern Gaza, Sunday, January 14, 2024. (AP)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated 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.
It is important to note that Rafah and Karam Abou Salem are the only two crossings into Gaza.
1.3 million displaced Palestinians
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza affirmed on Saturday that the infrastructure, health, and service facilities in the southern Gaza Strip, particularly in Rafah, are fragile and cannot withstand the accommodation of the needs of 1.3 million residents and displaced individuals. The Ministry warned of the spread of epidemics among the displaced, especially children and the elderly.
In a statement, the Ministry explained that the Israeli occupation continues to target health crews, noting that dozens have already been martyred by air raids directly targeting them, while others have been detained by the occupation forces. As such, only 6 ambulances remain operational in the sector.
On its part, the Government Media Office stated that Gaza and the northern provinces urgently need 1300 food trucks, daily, "to overcome the state of hunger." It noted that the occupation deliberately aims to cause a real famine in Gaza. The IOF even killed 14 Palestinians who had attempted to obtain food, while around 800,000 people in southern and northern Gaza are at risk of dying from hunger.
The Media Office pointed out that as part of the policy of starvation and thirst imposed by the occupation since the beginning of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, all drinking water pipelines, wells, and containers have been systematically targeted, thus making life in the Strip impossible.
Additionally, it highlighted that the occupation has forcefully displaced Palestinians to Rafah, claiming it was a "safe zone" only to later bomb it and thus commit horrendous massacres against them.
