- UN lacks supplies for Gaza’s 2 million displaced residents
- Israel blames UN for Gaza aid distribution shortcomings
- US urges concrete plan for Gaza’s future, criticizes Israel
The United Nations has exhausted its supplies of tents and food to provide to the nearly 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, the majority of whom are internally displaced and reliant on assistance to avert impending famine.
Wednesday afternoon, United Nations officials informed the Guardian that their warehouses south of the river separating the northern third of Gaza from the southern third were devoid of supplies. Resupply is improbable as long as the principal entry points into the territory remain sealed off in the wake of Israeli offensives launched in recent days.
No tents are permitted in humanitarian warehouses.” Additionally, neither the World Food Programme nor Unrwa [the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees] have any remaining food supplies south of the river. “All that is left is what individuals have donated to them or what is still available for purchase; we anticipate that this will be resolved as soon as possible,” said Georgios Petropoulos, the director of the Gaza sub-office of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “Time is running out to open a sustainable crossing into southern Gaza that can deliver predictable humanitarian supplies.”
During the seven-month conflict, the WFP and Unrwa have provided a significant portion of Gaza’s populace with life-sustaining necessities. Nonetheless, their dissemination has predominately relied on the movement of trucks passing through Rafah, the border between Egypt and Gaza, and Kerem Shalom, the adjacent point of entrance from Israel.
The Rafah border crossing remains closed following Israeli forces’ seizure of the area last week. As a result of ongoing combat and other severe logistical issues associated with the Israeli offensive on Rafah, it is currently impossible for UN officials to transport large convoys through Kerem Shalom.
Due to recent fighting, hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have been compelled to flee their homes or temporary shelters.
The latest United Nations estimates that over 600,000 individuals have evacuated Rafah by directives from the Israeli military, which last week initiated a long-awaited incursion into the city.
Similar directives from Israel have prompted an additional 100,000 individuals in the north to evacuate their dwellings or shelters in anticipation of a fresh round of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas.
Everyone was ordered to relocate to an “expanded humanitarian zone” along the southern coast of Gaza, where shelter and food distribution have been virtually neglected. The zone is characterized by “horrific and dehumanizing conditions,” according to medical personnel and aid officials, due to severe deficiencies in sanitation, water, shelter, and food.
According to aid officials, 54 vehicles entered Gaza through the northern Erez crossing on Tuesday. The cargoes of these trucks would permit some distribution in the north of Gaza. However, approximately 500 truckloads are estimated to be required to provide for the necessities of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
Even though the region’s limited number of hospitals and clinics maintain supplies and medications sufficient for an entire month, services have been drastically reduced due to a severe petroleum shortage.
Israel has declared its willingness to permit an inexhaustible influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It holds international organizations and the United Nations responsible for the inadequate aid distribution.
The conflict commenced on October 7th, when Hamas launched an assault on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians, and the capture of an additional 250. They continue to hold approximately one hundred hostages and the remains of over thirty, and ceasefire and hostage release negotiations mediated internationally appear to be at a stalemate.
According to local Palestinian health officials, the Israeli offensive has caused widespread devastation, the displacement of approximately 2 million individuals, and the loss of life of approximately 35,000, the majority of whom are children and women.
Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued some of his most forceful statements to date, stating that Israel requires a clear and concrete plan for the future of Gaza, where a power vacuum that could descend into anarchy exists.
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An Israeli occupation is not supported and will not be supported by us.” We do not endorse the Hamas government in Gaza either… This has been the cause of far too many problems for both the Israeli and Gazai people. During a press conference in Kyiv, Blinken added, “Anarchy and a vacuum that is likely to be filled by chaos are also unacceptable.
A fresh and acrimonious dispute arose between Israel and the United Nations following the Israeli army’s disclosure of drone footage featuring unidentified armed men positioned adjacent to UN-marked vehicles at the Unrwa compound in Rafah.
Israel has harshly criticized Unrwa, alleging that the organization collaborates with Hamas in Gaza and has demanded its dissolution. The agency categorically denies the allegations. According to a spokesperson, the agency was reviewing the footage.
Israeli settlers and right-wing activists have staged weekly demonstrations in front of the Unrwa headquarters in East Jerusalem, demanding its closure. Two apparent attempts to torch the complex have transpired, with the most recent occurring on Monday.
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of Unrwa, posted on social media on Tuesday that the attacks “must cease.”
