The government media office in the Gaza Strip warned on Sunday of the return of famine to Gaza City and the northern Strip as a result of Israel closing the crossings and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Strip.
The government office said in a statement that the humanitarian crisis inside the Gaza Strip is deepening, with the continued occupation of the Rafah crossing, closing it to the entry of aid trucks, and obstructing their entry from the Kerem Shalom crossing, as Israel thus applies its siege to the entire Gaza Strip.
He also warned that the specter of famine had once again threatened the Gaza and northern governorates, while the food security crisis was worsening in the central and southern governorates, especially with the displacement of tens of thousands of residents from the city of Rafah as a result of the invasion carried out by the occupation army.
Number of trucks
The information office in Gaza confirmed that the trucks that entered through the sea dock (established by the United States of America) since the beginning of its work (a week ago) did not exceed 100 trucks.
While last week, 214 trucks entered the Gaza and North governorates from a point (established by the Israeli army) west of Beit Lahia, including 109 loaded with flour for bakeries and citizens, and only 6 medicine trucks, according to the same source.
The office demanded the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Rafah crossing, noting that the land crossings are the most feasible and effective for delivering aid to the Gaza Strip to reduce the food security crisis and prevent famine that threatens all areas of the Gaza Strip.
He also called on the international community to put pressure on the occupation to bring in aid convoys by land and through well-known ports such as Rafah and Karam Abu Salem, and to reactivate the Al-Mintar, Al-Shujaiya and Beit Hanoun crossings.
During the past months, Israeli restrictions have led to famine in light of a strict blockade imposed by Israel on the passage of food, water, medicine and fuel supplies, causing the death of a number of children and the elderly.
Decisions and warnings
In the same context, the United Nations Population Fund warned today that half of the population of the Gaza Strip is at risk of imminent famine, including about 15,000 pregnant women.
The UN Fund considered this unbelievable, and at the same time avoidable, stressing that ““When the doors of aid close, the doors of famine open.”
The Fund called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, given its residents’ urgent need for humanitarian aid.
Last Friday, relief officials and health experts warned of famine in the Gaza Strip during this May, unless Israel lifts restrictions on aid, the fighting stops, and vital services return, according to what the New York Times reported.
According to the American newspaper, relief officials and health experts said that famine in Gaza is expected unless vital services such as health care and clean water that must be in place to stave off malnutrition are no longer restored.
On May 7, Israel took control of the Palestinian side with the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which led to the cessation of the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip as well as the travel of the wounded and sick abroad to receive treatment.
Two days ago, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its military operations and all actions that cause living conditions that could lead to the immediate elimination of Palestinians in Rafah.
The war on Gaza left more than 116,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel has continued its aggression against the Gaza Strip, since October 7, despite the International Criminal Court’s intention to issue arrest warrants against its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, for their responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to immediately stop the fighting. .
