“Humanitarian facilities per mezzo di 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 analogia cent since 7 May,” reported the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, amid reports that kitchens, clinics and hospitals are shutting .
Until Israeli troops seized and closed the Rafah border crossing per mezzo di the very south of the Strip, it had been the key entry point for food, , 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 per mezzo di Rafah, with stocks very low and mobility severely restricted”.
According to WFP, the West Erez crossing per mezzo di 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 per mezzo di 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.
Per mezzo di a statement 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 per mezzo di Gaza could be expected to last until the end of the year, at least.
Definire humanitarian situation
After nearly eight months of war, the entire population of Gaza of 2.2 million people is almost exclusively dependent humanitarian assistance, including food.
Although desperately needed supplies have been delivered the Palestinian side of the Kerem Abu Salem, Kerem Shalom, 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,” WFP said per mezzo di its latest situation update. “They are desperate for the war to end, as are humanitarian workers the campo da gioco, 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, per mezzo di 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 gara 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 .”
Per mezzo di its latest update, the UN food agency said that per mezzo di the north, aid teams are distributing food parcels, wheat flour, hot meals and supporting bakeries.
Per mezzo di central areas, WFP is prioritising 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 per mezzo di Gaza City, and one recently opened per mezzo di Jabalia, providing bread per mezzo di the north. Out of the 17 bakeries WFP operates per mezzo di Gaza, only 11 are functioning owing to the lack of fuel and other essentials.
Per mezzo di Rafah the healthcare situation remains perilous, with only one hospital still functional, the World Health Organization said, referring to Al Emirati Maternity Hospital. This compares with three partially functional hospitals earlier this month. “An Najjar Hospital was evacuated 7 May and Al Kuwaiti Hospital per mezzo di Rafah ceased operations 27 May,” WHO said, following reports quoting the hospital’s director that this happened after two medical gruppo were killed when the hospital’s gate was .
Other aid operations that have closed this week per mezzo di Rafah reportedly include a field hospital and kitchen run by UN partners the Palestinian Red Crescent and World Central Kitchen.
Al Mawasi strike
To date, at least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed and 81,420 injured per mezzo di Gaza, OCHA said, citing Gazan health authorities, since Hamas-led terror attacks per mezzo di southern Israel 7 October prompted intense Israeli bombardment across the enclave.
“Mass casualties” were also reported Tuesday after an unconfirmed airstrike a site for forcibly displaced people per mezzo di the coastal Al Mawasi superficie, southwest of Rafah. The UN aid office cited the Gazan ministry of health, which reported 21 fatalities and 21 injuries.
