By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The UN official emphasized that Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza “are fighting for survival after weeks under Israeli siege”.

The United Nations Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said on Friday that Israel only allowed one-third of 129 scheduled humanitarian aid missions into Gaza over the past week.

Quoting the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric added that “the rest were either denied, impeded or canceled due to security or logistical reasons.”

The UN spokesperson noted that aid operations across the besieged Strip are facing “major access restrictions” especially in Rafah and northern Gaza governorates due to the ongoing Israeli aggression.”

“This is severely limiting the critical delivery of food, medical supplies and fuel supplies — including those needed to power water wells — and deepening an already dire humanitarian situation,” Dujarric stressed.

Moreover, the UN official emphasized that Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza “are fighting for survival after weeks under Israeli siege” with no rescue operations for more than 40 days.

Dire Need of Shelter

On a related topic, Dujarric pointed out the desperate need for “adequate shelter” to protect Palestinians from the harsh weather conditions with winter approaching, adding that the UN’s partners are “distributing tents and tarpaulins as quickly as possible, but it is just a fraction of what is actually needed in the area.”

“Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in makeshift sites and damaged buildings urgently require shelter assistance, with the ongoing siege in North Gaza driving needs even higher,” he added.

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Dujarric disclosed that over 36,000 tarpaulins and around 58,000 sealing-off kits are waiting for Israeli approval to enter Gaza.  

“These supplies are enough to benefit more than 76,000 families — or roughly 400,000 people,” he explained.

On the limited aid distribution across the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli aggression and restrictions on aid entry, Dujarric noted that the UN partners managed to distribute hot meals in the Gaza governorate to around “57,000 displaced people in dozens of shelters.”

“Water trucking reached nearly 18,000 people in 20 shelters, and cleaning services were provided to more than 29,000 displaced Palestinians in 47 shelters,” the UN official added.

Dujarric revealed that they were also able to reach dozens of women in Gaza city with counseling sessions.

Devastating Conditions

The repeated calls by various UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza due to the devastating conditions under which Palestinians live have been ignored by Israel throughout its genocidal war on the Strip.

Several UN agencies along with humanitarian organizations have warned of an imminent famine in the besieged enclave if Israel continues to deny entry of lifesaving commodities into Gaza.

A group of aid organizations said in a joint “scorecard” released on November 12 that Israel has failed to meet the US government’s deadline to take concrete measures to reverse the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

On October 13, 2024, the US Secretaries of State and Defense issued a letter demanding progress within 30 days on measures to reverse the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

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The scorecard issued concluded that “Israel has failed to comply with its ally’s demands – at enormous human cost for Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” a statement issued by the eight groups on Tuesday said.

“The facts are clear,” the statement said, “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023.”

The scorecard was compiled by Anera, CARE International, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Oxfam, Refugees International, and Save the Children.

“This new analysis clearly demonstrates that the Israeli government is violating its obligations under U.S. and international law to facilitate humanitarian relief for suffering Palestinians in Gaza,” said Refugees International president and former senior USAID official Jeremy Konyndyk. 

“With experts again projecting imminent famine in north Gaza, there is no time to lose. The United States must impose immediate restrictions on security cooperation with Israel as required under Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act.”

Genocide Continues

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,056 Palestinians have been killed, and 104,268 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)