UN refugee agency unable to safely deliver aid to northern Gaza amid Israel fire

An aerial view of Palestinian walking among pile of rubble and ash of the buildings in the neighbourhood as they try to maintain their daily lives under limited means and difficult conditions while Israeli attacks continue on February 27, 2024 [Omar Qattaa – Anadolu Agency]

The UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said, Wednesday, it is still unable to safely deliver humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip amid Israeli fire, Anadolu Agency reports.

We “have been unable to reach northern Gaza and, increasingly, parts of southern Gaza, safely,” UNRWA said in a statement.

“Aid convoys reportedly continue to come under fire and are denied access by the Israeli authorities.”

The refugee agency said that humanitarian aid flows into Gaza have dropped by 50 per cent in February.

“The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day, with significant difficulties bringing supplies in through both Karm Abu Salem and Rafah,” it added.

“UNRWA trucks have struggled to enter the Gaza Strip due to security constraints and temporary closures at both crossings.”

UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, on Sunday warned of an imminent famine in Gaza as aid agencies struggle to deliver food to the north of the enclave.

“The last time UNRWA was able to deliver food aid to northern Gaza was on 23 January,” Lazzarini wrote on social media.

Recent findings by UN-affiliated partner organisations suggest that acute malnutrition has spiked in Gaza to reach 16.2 per cent, exceeding the critical threshold set by the World Health Organisation at 15 per cent.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.

At least 29,954 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,300 others injured.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 per cent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling this January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

READ: UN: No aid convoys in northern Gaza since 23 January

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