US pier insufficient to replace land route Gaza aid deliveries: UNRWA
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UNRWA stresses that the bid to administer aid to Gaza solely through the US pier would be insufficient.
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A Palestinian child plays next to empty ammunition containers used by the Israeli occupation in Khan Younis in the ongoing war on Gaza, on May 16, 2024. (AFP)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday that delivering aid to Gaza via land routes was irreplaceable in terms of the volume of assistance required by the 2.2 million population in Gaza.
The UN organization welcomed "the arrival of the first aid shipment" through the US-built pier off Gaza's coast, but emphasized that land routes "remain the most viable, effective, efficient, and safest means of delivering aid."
Read more: UN experts warn US Gaza aid pier to facilitate Rafah invasion
Meanwhile, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza continues for the 227th day, with intense bombing being carried out across the Strip.
Al-Mayadeen's correspondent reported an Israeli massacre killing six family members in an airstrike targeting their home in the Beit Lahia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Additionally, he said that the occupation's artillery shelled the eastern areas of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.
A child was martyred and two people were wounded in an Israeli drone strike in the Jabalia refugee camp. Additionally, the Israeli military destroyed a residential block in the camp.
In Khan Younis, the correspondent reported that the occupation shelled the eastern area of al-Qarara town, while military vehicles stationed east of the area heavily fired at the citizens' homes.
Read more: Truckers recount 'barbaric' settler attack on Gaza aid convoy
The Israeli invasion of eastern Rafah continues for almost two weeks, amid intense Israeli airstrikes and shelling of areas across the city.
Meanwhile, the Rafah and Karam Abu Salem crossings remained closed by the occupation for the 14th consecutive day, prohibiting all entry of aid to Gaza as part of the systemic Israeli starvation policy against the Strip's population.
The UNRWA warned that since May 6, only 69 aid trucks have reached southern Gaza, demanding that the crossings be reopened and safe access to them ensured to avoid the continuation of the catastrophic humanitarian situation.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the occupation is committing a new genocide by closing the crossings, preventing travel, and barring the entry of medical supplies and fuel into the besieged Strip.
The ministry added that "every hour, wounded [Palestinians] die due to the occupation's control over the Rafah crossing and its closure."
"الأمر 9".. منظمة صهيونية هدفها عرقلة دخول المساعدات لغزة بحماية قوات الاحتلال#المساعدات_الانسانية#غزة #الميادين_GO pic.twitter.com/3RWi2xpedg
— Almayadeen Go الميادين (@almayadeengo) May 18, 2024
