The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that it was suspending the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip from a key crossing point with Israel, as delivery had become “impossible”.
“We are suspending the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza”, a “difficult decision […] while hunger is rapidly worsening” in the war-torn territory for nearly 14 months, UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini told X.
Most trucks containing humanitarian aid enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip, before being inspected there.
However, “the road leading out of this crossing point has not been safe for months. On November 16, a large convoy of aid trucks was robbed by armed gangs, and food trucks suffered the same fate on Saturday, added Mr. Lazzarini.
In Gaza, ravaged by more than a year of war unleashed after the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, “humanitarian operations have become impossible,” according to Mr. Lazzarini.
“The responsibility for protecting humanitarian workers and equipment lies with the State of Israel as the occupying power,” said the head of UNRWA, who is calling for a ceasefire.
On Saturday, three employees of the American NGO World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli army strike in Khan Younes (south), and Save the Children announced on Sunday that it had also lost a member of its team that same day.
“We need to see humanitarian aid flowing safely into Gaza and an end to attacks on aid workers,” said Alexandra Saieh of Save the Children.
“Only 7% of the aid delivered to the Gaza Strip in November was coordinated by UNRWA,” replied Cogat on X. “Dozens of humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip continue to play an increasing role in the delivery of aid,” assures the Israeli Defense Ministry body responsible for managing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
“Catastrophic”
The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire as well as “the delivery of humanitarian aid”. Echoing this, a senior representative of German diplomacy considered that Israel had “no excuse” to prevent the delivery of “supplies. »
After more than a year of war, Gaza has descended into anarchy, with an increase in famine and widespread looting while public order has collapsed, UN officials warned on Friday.
The day before, during a press trip organized by Israeli authorities accused of obstruction, a military official had shown aid shipments and indicated that the goods often wait for “months” on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom.
On November 13, Israel announced the opening of a new crossing point, just before a deadline set by the United States for increasing deliveries.
But according to UNRWA, only 1,358 trucks entered Gaza in November, compared to an average of 500 per day before the war. The poor state of the roads and the bombing and fighting add to the complexity of operations.
The temporary cessation of deliveries by UNRWA is therefore “a very bad omen” and “dramatic in a context which was already dramatic” reacted Sunday Jean-François Corty, president of Médecins du Monde according to whom “the mortality indicators are exponential and hallucinatory”, due in particular to the lack of food, medicine, and access to water.
For Claire Nicolet, head of mission for Médecins sans Frontières, it is “catastrophic”. “Commercial deliveries have been stopped, there is no longer a bakery, and the UN agency is the backbone of aid for the supply of food and equipment”, and part of the medical sector.
