UN: Israeli restrictions hamper relief efforts for flood-hit Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip are forcing relief teams to work with inadequate equipment and shelter supplies following floods that have caused deaths, missing people, displacement and material damage, the United Nations said on Monday.

UN Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq made the remarks during a press conference in New York.

Haq said the Israeli restrictions are forcing humanitarian workers to operate with equipment and shelter supplies that are “completely insufficient”.

He quoted Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, as calling “for the urgent lifting of all unnecessary restrictions and delays, including those preventing humanitarian organizations from bringing into Gaza enough vacuum trucks, mobile dewatering pumps, heavy machinery, engine oil, spare parts, tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, blankets, and winter clothing.”

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Haq said the first heavy rainfall in the Gaza Strip this year had caused flooding because of the territory’s weak infrastructure.

“We have received reports of an infant who drowned in the flooding, and of three children and at least one woman who were killed when a sand dune collapsed onto their tents. Thousands of families have lost their shelters and belongings,” he said.

Separately, Haq said Israeli attacks on residential areas in Gaza are continuing, causing further casualties and hampering the work of UN teams.

He said UN staff had been forced to take shelter on Saturday after gunfire was reported near an area housing displaced people, west of the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza City. No UN staff were injured.

He renewed his call for civilians to be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law, stressing that more aid could enter Gaza if Israeli authorities allowed it.

READ: 2.1 million people in Gaza need protection during winter: Palestinian minister