By Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel has denied access to more than half of the missions planned by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and its humanitarian partners to deliver aid in the northern Gaza Strip since the start of the year, the agency said Tuesday.
''Since the start of 2024, 51% of the missions planned by UNRWA and humanitarian partners to deliver aid and undertake assessments to areas in north Gaza this year were denied access by Israeli authorities,'' the agency said on X.
''Food insecurity north of Wadi Gaza has reached an extremely critical state,'' it added.
The agency said on Nov. 17 last year that residents in northern Gaza were "on the brink of famine."
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
The death toll from Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip has jumped to 29,195, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday.
Another 69,170 people have been injured so far.
About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli onslaught, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.