By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Wednesday reported that aid deliveries to Gaza have decreased by 67% since the closure of the Rafah crossing on May 7.
"Our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that widespread Israeli bombardments continue to be reported. Ground incursions and heavy fighting are also affecting northern, central and southern Gaza," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference.
Saying that the "the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza has dropped by 67% since the seventh of May," Dujarric attributed this primarily to the closure of the Rafah border crossing.
Dujarric also stated that health and service facilities are shutting down one by one and that displacement due to the attacks is also affecting the distribution of resources.
Noting that only one hospital in Rafah is partially operational, Dujarric said the UN and its partners are trying to do their best under all conditions.
Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack, killing more than 37,170 people and injuring 81,400 others.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.