GAZA, (PIC)
The United Nations said that Israel continues to obstruct the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, noting that 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes since March 18.
Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a press conference on Thursday that aid has not entered the Gaza Strip for nearly two months. Humanitarian workers still face difficulties carrying out their missions, and Israel only allowed two of six planned humanitarian aid operations to proceed on Wednesday.
The UN indicated that the restrictions imposed by Israel on humanitarian access are impeding the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals, putting more patients’ lives at risk.
Since March 2, Israel has prevented the entry of essential supplies such as food and water into Gaza by closing the border crossings, resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe and worsening famine.
According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in Gaza since March 18, due to the resumption of the genocide campaign by Israeli forces and the violation of the temporary ceasefire agreement on January 19, 2025.
OCHA confirmed that “the ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip continue to have devastating impacts on civilians, including death, displacement, and the destruction of vital infrastructure.”
It warned that Israel continues to reject approval of coordinated humanitarian mission “Today, only two out of six planned and coordinated humanitarian movements were facilitated.”
It added, “Israel rejected four other missions, including one intended to bring fuel,” without providing reasons for the rejection or details on the missions and the aid they carried.
The UN office reported that its teams visited displacement sites in Khan Yunis last week, where “most people are living in overcrowded shelters, amid severe shortages of shelter, food, water, and medicine.”
Similarly, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Wednesday that the severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies in Gaza poses a serious threat to the lives of patients.
UNRWA said that the entire healthcare system in Gaza has been under attack since the beginning of the assault, calling for an end to the ongoing blockade imposed by Israeli occupation forces and a renewal of the ceasefire.
In the same context, the organization “Doctors Without Borders” said that Gaza has become a mass grave for Palestinians and those who try to help them.
The organization added that deliberately preventing the delivery of essential aid is systematically destroying the lives of Palestinians once again, calling for an immediate end to the blockade on Gaza, the protection of Palestinian lives and those of humanitarian and medical workers, and the restoration and maintenance of the ceasefire.
With unwavering US support, Israel has continued to commit acts of genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in over 167,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, most of them women and children, and more than 11,000 missing.
