Israel bars UN agency from Gaza aid deliveries
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said Israel had barred it from delivering aid in the northern Gaza Strip, where the threat of famine is highest.
“Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @UNRWA food convoys to the north,” agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. “This is outrageous & makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a [manmade] famine.”
Israel fired back, saying on Monday that the UNRWA “has long forsaken its role in facilitating aid to northern Gaza, [w]hile we’ve been working with aid orgs and other UN agencies to facilitate large amounts of aid to the north.”
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli Defense Ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel “goes to great lengths to facilitate aid to northern Gaza, including by opening a new crossing in northern Gaza.”
Juliette Touma, UNRWA director of communications, told Agence FrancePresse (AFP) that the decision not to approve deliveries to the north had been relayed in a meeting with Israeli military officials on Sunday.
It followed two denials in writing for convoy deliveries to the north last week. No reason for the decision was given, Touma said.
Gaza faces dire humanitarian conditions as a result of Israel’s war on Hamas that began nearly six months ago, triggered by the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
Last week, a UN-backed food security assessment warned that famine was projected to hit northern Gaza by May unless there was urgent intervention.
The UNRWA has not been able to deliver food to the north since January 29, Touma said.
“The latest decision is another nail in the coffin” for efforts to get desperately needed aid to Gazans reeling from war, she said.
Martin Griffiths, head of the UN humanitarian coordination office, said on X on Sunday that the UNRWA “is the beating heart of the humanitarian response in Gaza.”
“The decision to block its food convoys to the north only pushes thousands closer to famine. It must be revoked,” he added.
World Health Organization DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that blocking UNRWA aid deliveries was, “in fact, denying starving people the ability to survive.”
Earlier on Sunday, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres urged an end to the “nonstop nightmare” endured by Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
Israel has accused UNRWA staff members of participating in the October 7 attacks and called the agency “a front for Hamas.”
Touma said Israeli authorities on Sunday also rejected a UN request to send a team to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, where fighting has flared for almost a week, “to evacuate people who are injured.”
The October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, an AFP tally of Israeli official figures shows.
Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Hamas has killed at least 32,226 people, mostly women and children, said the Health Ministry in the Hamasrun territory.