The United Nations warns that Gaza is the “hungriest place on Earth” and that its entire population is in danger of starvation as Israeli forces force desperate Palestinians to flee their homes.
The UN on Friday demanded that Israel stop its deliberate hunger-stricken enclave and allow food to enter the besieged city. Its “most obstructed in recent history” was the UN’s statement on Friday.
According to Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “the aid operation that we have ready to roll is being put in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations, not only in the world today but in recent history.”
Less than 600 of the 900 aid trucks that were permitted to enter from the Israeli side of the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom in Israel, were being offloaded in Gaza, he claimed, adding that less money had been taken for distribution.
“I don’t have any food, oil, or flour. I give my children a bag of filthy bread. For my children, I want to purchase a bag of flour. I’d like some food. A Palestinian told Al Jazeera, “I’m hungry.
Hani Mahmoud, a journalist from Gaza City, reported that there hasn’t been a drop in aid entering the Strip that has been permitted in the last few days.
People in Khan Younis and Rafah, the city’s central area, struggled daily to find food supplies, especially when it comes to flour and other basic necessities, he added.
Palestinians leaving empty-handed aid stations
Israel imposed a nearly three-month blockade on the enclave, which led to the resume of limited UN operations and pressure from Western governments and international humanitarian organizations.
Israel also pushed for the shadowy private aid provider, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to provide essential food aid to Palestinians who were starving.
Working with GHF is not permitted by the UN and other aid organizations, which claim that its distribution model causes displacement of Palestinians and lacks neutrality.
However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated to reporters on Friday that while aid deliveries are “very, very little impact,” they are still getting “good” to those in need.
He claimed that Gaza’s catastrophic situation was the worst since the start of the conflict.
People like displaced Palestinian Layla al-Masri, who has been displaced, are leaving empty-handed because only three of the four distribution points have been set up to receive aid from the GHF.
“It is all lies what they are saying about their desire to feed the people of Gaza. They don’t give people anything to drink, she said.
Parents giving their kids water,
Another Palestinian who fled Gaza claimed that his family has no food. We don’t have anything at home, he said, “No flour, no food, no bread.”
“Whenever I go to get aid, I have a box in my hand and hundreds of people crowd over me.” I used to text UNRWA [UN agency for Palestinian refugees], and we would go get aid. There is nothing right now. You can get assistance if you are strong. If you don’t, you leave empty-handed, according to Qader Rabie.
UN agencies’ humanitarian affairs spokesperson Eri Kaneko also criticized the type of aid being provided by UN agencies in Gaza.
We are not permitted to bring in a single ready-to-eat meal, according to Israeli authorities. For bakeries, flour is the only food that is permitted. It wouldn’t constitute a complete diet for anyone, according to Kaneko, even if it were allowed in an unlimited amount, which it wasn’t.
Palestinians who received GHF aid claimed that the packages they received contained sugar, pasta, olive oil, flour, canned beans, and biscuits.
The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, meanwhile, referred to the GHF as a “bait to corral people” that “violates every principle of international law.”
“This is aid being used to force people out of militarized areas,” according to the statement. Both the goal is to control the population and to humiliate people. He claimed that this is not intended to stop starvation.
According to Al Jazeera’s reporter from Deir el-Balah in Gaza, there isn’t much food entering the area because of the number of trucks entering and the amount of aid they are carrying.
Palestinians claim they haven’t really had any food because there haven’t been any regular distribution points, she said, adding that many are returning with their pots empty despite the trucks’ entry over the past few days.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply