Norway says Israel’s decision to block UNRWA food convoys is 'unacceptable'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Israel’s decision to deny access to food convoys from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to northern Gaza is unacceptable, Norway’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

"Famine is imminent. More life-saving humanitarian assistance is crucial & urgent," the ministry wrote on X, citing Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

Several countries have suspended their funding to UNRWA following Israeli accusations in January that 12 of the agency's thousands of employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel. The agency is investigating the claims but has warned that cutting off funding risks a catastrophe.

Some countries including Canada later revised their decision and resumed funding to the agency amid the crippling humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

"Israel must ensure increased access of vital food supplies and aid into and within Gaza," said Barth Eide.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Palestinian territories since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 32,400 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 74,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

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

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