With no let-up in reported street battles and
Israeli bombardment across Gaza on Thursday, UN
humanitarians warned that the flow
of vital lifesaving aid into the enclave has fallen
by more than two-thirds since the Israeli military
stepped up its campaign in Rafah and seized the key aid
conduit.
“Humanitarian facilities in Rafah are forced to close one
after another…The flow of humanitarian aid supplies into
Gaza, already insufficient to meet the soaring needs, has dropped
by 67 per cent since 7 May,” reported the UN aid coordination
office, OCHA.
Until Israeli troops seized and closed the Rafah border crossing
in the very south of the Strip, it had been the key entry point
for food, water, fuel and medicine into Gaza, as well as the
route for sick and wounded people to leave for treatment.
Powerless to help against famine threat
Echoing those concerns, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that there was
“little (the agency) can currently do in Rafah, with stocks very
low and mobility severely restricted”.
According to WFP, the West Erez crossing in northern Gaza “is
functional, but not reliable”. Gate 96 further south and the
Erez crossing are also “inaccessible” and access is so
“constrained” to southern parts of Gaza that
it risks causing the same catastrophic levels of
hunger witnessed in the north.
Tactical gain
The development comes as the Israeli military said that it had
secured “tactical control” of a narrow 13 kilometre (eight mile)
stretch of land between Gaza and Egypt.
In a statement on Wednesday, an Israeli Defence Forces
spokesperson reportedly claimed that rocket launchers had been
used to attack Israel from the Philadelphi Corridor.
A senior Israeli official also reportedly told national radio
Wednesday that fighting in Gaza could be expected to last until
the end of the year, at least.
Dire humanitarian situation
After nearly eight months of war, the entire population of Gaza
of 2.2 million people is almost exclusively dependent on
humanitarian assistance, including food.
Although desperately needed supplies have been delivered on the
Palestinian side of the Kerem Abu Salem crossing located close to
Rafah, UN humanitarians have repeatedly stressed that it is not
safe to fetch them amid ongoing hostilities, impassable roads,
unexploded weapons, fuel shortages and delays at checkpoints.
“Adults and children are beyond exhausted from constant
displacement, hunger, and fear,” the WFP said in its latest
situation update. “They are desperate for the war to end – as are
humanitarian workers on the ground, who are largely displaced and
dispersed along with the people they are meant to serve.
Aid officials have frequently
reiterated the responsibility of Israel as the occupying
power to ensure that aid reaches those who need it, in line with
international humanitarian law.
The UN food agency meanwhile confirmed that lifesaving aid relief
and fuel from Egypt had crossed into Gaza through the Kerem
Shalom crossing.
“This is an important step, but we need sustained access. We need
all border crossings and crossing points within Gaza to be open,”
it said, adding that although some commercial goods had reached
the enclave “people cannot afford the high prices - we need more
aid to enter through the south because people need dietary
diversity, access to healthcare, and water”.
In its latest update, the UN food agency said
that in the north, aid teams are
distributing food parcels, wheat flour, hot meals, and supporting
bakeries.
In central areas, WFP is prioritizing hot meals
to reach more people with fewer resources. It noted that faster
assistance is now possible thanks to a recently introduced
self-registration tool that allows people to update their
location.
Just four bakeries now operate in Gaza City, and one recently
opened in Jabalia, providing essential bread in the north. Out of
the 17 bakeries WFP operates in Gaza only 11 are operating owing
to the lack of fuel and other essentials.
Al Mawasi strike
To date, at least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed and 81,420
injured in Gaza, OCHA said, citing Gazan health authorities,
since Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October
prompted intense Israeli bombardment across the enclave.
“Mass casualties” were also reported on Tuesday after an
unconfirmed airstrike on a site for forcibly displaced people in
the coastal Al Mawasi area, southwest of Rafah. The UN aid office
cited the Gazan ministry of health which reported 21 fatalities
and 21 injuries.
