UN notes continued restrictions on humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza

By Merve Aydogan

TORONTO, Canada (AA) - The UN noted Tuesday that restrictions on humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza continue, hindering timely access to assistance for thousands of needy individuals.

"Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that access constraints continue to impede the timely delivery of life-saving aid, particularly the hundreds of 1000s of people in northern Gaza," deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news conference.

Noting that "less than half of planned humanitarian aid missions in northern Gaza were facilitated by the Israeli authorities" during the first two weeks of March, Haq said, "That's 11 out of 24 missions, the rest were either denied or postponed."

Citing OCHA's reports on the need for Israel to "guarantee safe, sustained and unhindered aid across Gaza," he stressed that the "only way to deliver aid on a large scale and at the skill required to avert imminent famine is by road."

He also noted that, according to the World Food Programme, at least 300 aid trucks need to enter Gaza daily to meet the basic needs of the population.

Asked about the UN's figures on hunger and famine in Gaza, Haq said, "This is something beyond the scale of what we've seen before. I know from going to the meetings with humanitarians, that people who are long-term humanitarian workers have seen the situation in Gaza and seen it as something far beyond what they've seen in any of their previous experiences, as bad as those experiences in other parts of the world are."

Haq also expressed concern that if immediate action is not taken, there's a risk of mass casualties.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive against Gaza since an attack by the Palestine group, Hamas, in October, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.