Food, fresh water rapidly running out in Gaza, warns UN

The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations issued a warning on Thursday, noting that vital supplies were critically short in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s complete blockade of the region following deadly Hamas attacks.

Israel imposed a total embargo on Gaza on Monday after a weekend attack by Hamas that claimed more than 1,300 deaths, shutting all entry crossings and preventing the flow of food, fuel, and water into the coastal area.

Gaza’s hospital generators will soon run out of gas, and its supplies of aid and drugs are stranded there owing to a lack of safe passage, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCRC).

The Israeli military has closed the border and extensively bombed the enclave, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee.

“The people that are seeking shelter and striving to survive in this environment are only going to get into worse and worse situations as time goes on,” Lander said.

He asked Israel and Egypt to create secure corridors so that the WFP could deliver supplies to Gaza and make sure that U.N. officials could work there safely.

“We’ve seen a number of sites that are considered humanitarian, or clinics and schools that have been hit by the strikes. So, we again, we are calling on the parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law,” he said.

The United Nations agency in charge of Palestinian refugees, UNWRA, said that 11 of its staff members have already lost their lives in the violence. “(It) is a terrible tragedy and we really extend our condolences to their families,” Lander said.

In normal times, the U.N. agency provides direct food aid to about 350,000 Palestinians each month and provides money transfers of relief to almost 1 million people in partnership with other humanitarian partners.

A 2023 assessment by U.N. agencies predicted that, up from 10% in 2022, 29% of Gazan households would be living in difficult or disastrous conditions, and that 58% of Gaza Strip residents would require humanitarian aid.

(With agency inputs)