UN halves food rations in Gaza due to Israeli restrictions
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Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid waiting to cross from the Egyptian side of Rafah into the Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: AFP
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GENEVA – The UN has cut food rations for people in Gaza by half, citing Israeli restrictions that continue to impact the organisation’s humanitarian efforts.
For the past few months, the UN and its humanitarian partners have been able to deliver aid into Gaza with some limits from the Israeli authorities, but on Dec 12, they halved food portions being distributed, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Dec 15.
“Due to ongoing restrictions affecting our ability to bring in sufficient volumes of aid, our partners have once again had to reduce the assistance being provided” to one parcel containing a bag of flour and 1.5kg of high energy biscuits, he said.
“This reduced package covers half of the minimum caloric needs per family for the remainder of the month.”
Mr Haq said he blamed Israel’s restrictions at crossing points where aid enters Gaza, the kinds of items that can come in and limits on the number of humanitarian worker visas.
“A lot of these are restrictions that have come from the Israeli authorities,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get as much aid as we can in.”
The Israeli mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sharp cut in food aid to the area underscores the fragility of humanitarian operations in Gaza, two months after a ceasefire
At the same time, deliveries have amounted to only a portion of what the UN says it can provide, and the onset of winter has raised fresh urgency for the cause. BLOOMBERG
