UN food agency suspends deliveries amid Israeli shooting and a “collapse of civil order” in northern Gaza.
The United Nations food agency suspended aid deliveries to northern Gaza, citing Israeli shooting and “utter chaos and violence due to the breakdown of civil order” in the area.
The latest suspension Tuesday increases fears of famine in northern Gaza, which has been almost completely cut off from aid since late October amid Israel’s devastating war against the enclave.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) said the decision “was not taken lightly” as it risks causing people to starve to death. But he said “safety and security for providing essential food aid – and for the people receiving it must be guaranteed”.
The agency said it suspended deliveries to the north three weeks ago after a strike hit a humanitarian truck. The organization tried to resume deliveries this week, but said convoys on Sunday and Monday were met with gunfire and crowds of hungry people stripping their goods and beating a driver.
Footage from the scene of the operations, verified by Tel Aviv Tribune, showed Palestinians fleeing for cover amid the sound of gunfire and clouds of smoke from smoke bombs.
Witnesses said one man died and many others were injured in the attacks.
The videos also show Palestinian children picking up flour spilled from the ground after a bag was opened.
The WFP – which previously warned of famine-like conditions affecting 2.3 million people in Gaza – said its teams “have witnessed unprecedented levels of despair” in the north over the past two days.
The agency said it was working to resume deliveries as soon as possible and called for better security for its staff as well as “significantly higher food volumes” and the opening of crossing points for aid directly to northern Gaza from Israel.
The suspension of aid to the north comes against a backdrop of a sharp drop in the entry of humanitarian trucks throughout Gaza. Figures from the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show that the average number of aid trucks entering Gaza increased from 140 per day in January to 60 per day in February.
Israel – which controls entry points into Gaza – has opened only one crossing into the enclave despite growing international pressure to provide humanitarian aid, including interim rulings from the International Court of Justice .
UN agencies say cumbersome Israeli procedures have slowed the passage of trucks, while right-wing Israeli protesters blocked trucks at the Kerem Shalom entry point in southern Gaza, saying the Palestinian people should not receive help.
When supplies arrive in Gaza, UN staff and humanitarian groups are unable to collect them at crossing points due to “lack of security and breakdown of law and order,” according to Eri Kaneko, OCHA spokesperson. This includes Israel’s targeted killings of Gaza police commanders who guarded the truck convoys, according to humanitarian agencies.
Shane Low, spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, described conditions for aid workers in Gaza as “unacceptable”.
“In any other context, humanitarians would pull out at this point, because it’s just too dangerous,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“There is no guarantee for the safety of humanitarian personnel, neither because of the Israeli targeting of the convoys, nor because of the Israeli targeting of the police officers who are there to protect the convoys, and of course because of the desperation due to lack of help arriving. »
UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said Israeli authorities had denied access to 51 percent of missions planned to provide aid to northern Gaza.
“Food insecurity in northern Wadi Gaza has reached an extremely critical state,” he said in a post on X.
🛑 51% of missions planned by @UNRWA and humanitarian partners to provide assistance and undertake assessments in northern areas📍#Gaza this year, Israeli authorities refused them access.
Food insecurity in northern Wadi Gaza has reached an extremely critical state #Access denied pic.twitter.com/YeKsZpKh4E
– UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 20, 2024
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 29,092 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, when Hamas – which governs Gaza – launched a surprise attack in the southern Israel.
Some 1,139 people have been killed in Hamas attacks in Israel.
