UNITED NATIONS: The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that although its efforts to get much-needed food supplies to northern Gaza were restarted on Tuesday, they were largely unsuccessful.
Despite their attempts, the WFP reported limited success in their endeavor. They said that a convoy consisting of 14 trucks, marking their first delivery to northern Gaza since halting operations on February 20th, was denied entry by Israeli occupation forces after waiting for three hours at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.
“Despite today’s setback in reaching the starving people in the north, WFP remains committed to exploring all available avenues to deliver aid,” stated Carl Skau, WFP Deputy Executive Director.
Following the convoy’s rejection, it was redirected and subsequently intercepted by a desperate crowd, resulting in the looting of approximately 200 tons of food from the trucks.
Emphasizing the necessity of road routes for transporting substantial quantities of food required to prevent famine in northern Gaza, the agency reiterated its stance.
Earlier on Tuesday, with assistance from the Royal Jordanian Air Force, six tons of WFP food supplies, sufficient for approximately 20,000 individuals, were airdropped to civilians in the northern region.
“Airdrops are a measure of last resort and cannot single-handedly prevent famine. We urgently require entry points into northern Gaza to facilitate the delivery of food for half a million people in dire need,” he added.
WFP highlighted the dire situation in the north, where hunger has reached catastrophic levels, resulting in children succumbing to hunger-related illnesses and severe malnutrition.
A comprehensive relief effort necessitates additional entry points into Gaza, including from the north, and the utilization of Israel’s Ashdod port, reiterated the agency, underlining the imperative for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate such operations.
Additionally, on Tuesday, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric conveyed reports from humanitarian personnel in Gaza, detailing extremely challenging conditions marked by high levels of displacement and overcrowding in shelters.
According to the latest assessment, an alarming 340 individuals are sharing a single toilet, with an average of one shower for every 1,300 people, while over 80 percent of household’s lack access to safe and clean water, Dujarric stated during the regular press briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York.
In response, UNICEF has been providing fuel to sustain public and private water wells and desalination plants. Furthermore, the agency has distributed over 50 emergency health kits to cater to more than half a million individuals and adequate newborn kits for 8,700 newborns, Dujarric noted.
