‘Real progress’ made in delivering aid to Gaza, UN says
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Palestinians carry aid supplies that arrived by trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct 11.
PHOTO: EPA
Yan Zhuang
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NEW YORK – The United Nations said in a statement on Oct 12 that “real progress” was being made in delivering aid to the Gaza Strip, as the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that its aid efforts were “well under way”.
Gaza is in the grip of a deep humanitarian crisis
“The easing of restrictions on movement and access in multiple areas” have allowed the agency to deliver medical and emergency supplies where they were most needed and support displaced families to prepare for winter, the agency said.
Cooking oil entered the territory for the first time since March, and tents, flour, frozen meat, fresh fruit and medicine crossed into Gaza throughout the day on Oct 12, it added.
The agency said that, alongside its partners, it has distributed hundreds of thousands of hot meals and bread bundles in the north and south of the territory.
Humanitarian aid has been one of the most bitter flashpoints of the war.
A UN-backed panel of food experts said parts of Gaza were officially under famine, and aid groups have accused Israel of imposing onerous rules and restrictions on what items can enter Gaza.
Israel has rejected the panel’s findings. Israeli officials have said they allowed enough food into the territory but claimed, without proof, that much of it was systemically stolen by Hamas.
The UN said in its statement on Oct 12 that it has also secured Israeli approval for more aid to move forward, including water, shelter, medicine and other supplies.
Mr Tom Fletcher, the top UN humanitarian official, said last week that almost the entire population of Gaza needed some form of food aid, including 500,000 people who required treatment to address the effects of famine.
The agency has a plan to scale up delivery of aid over the first 60 days of the ceasefire, he said.
The UN plans to send hundreds of trucks into the territory each day to provide food, increase efforts to provide shelter, establish more healthcare sites, and dispatch emergency medical teams into Gaza.
It also plans to help repair basic municipal services like providing clean water, a functioning sewerage system and garbage pick-ups, Mr Fletcher said. NYTIMES
