🎈 Up Big Today: Find today's biggest gainers (some over 50%!) with our free screenerTry Stock Screener

Gaza is 'choked off' from aid since crossings shut, UN agencies say

Published 05/07/2024, 05:51 AM
Updated 05/07/2024, 11:41 AM
© Reuters. Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 7, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -U.N. agencies said on Tuesday the two main crossings into the southern Gaza Strip remained shut, virtually cutting off the Palestinian enclave from outside aid with few stocks positioned inside.

The global agency's humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists Israel had shut both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings for aid and people as part of its military operation in Rafah, where around 1 million uprooted people are sheltering.

The Israeli military said a limited operation in Rafah was meant to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which governs the besieged Palestinian territory.

"The two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off," Laerke said, adding U.N. agencies had very low stocks inside the Gaza Strip since humanitarian supplies were consumed immediately. The enclave has just a one-day buffer of fuel stocks, he said.

"If no fuel comes in for a prolonged period of time it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave," he said.

A World Health Organization spokesperson said in response to a journalist's question that no exceptions were being made for sick and injured patients.

While some non-fuel supplies have entered Gaza via the northern Erez crossing in recent days, the U.N. agencies said this was insufficient and difficult to deliver to Rafah since it meant crossing active combat zones.

"Erez will simply not be enough," said James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations children's agency. "If Rafah gate closes for an extended period, it's hard to see how famine in Gaza can be averted," he said.

The World Food Programme said later on social media platform X that its stocks would only last between one and four days for the southern and central parts of Gaza.

© Reuters. Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 7, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Even before the latest escalation in the seven-month-old conflict, the United Nations had repeatedly accused Israel of restricting aid access despite famine warnings. Faced with growing international pressure, Israel had pledged to improve access but says U.N. agencies are to blame for not distributing aid more efficiently within the enclave.

U.N. agencies said they had pre-stocked some aid within Rafah but said there were very low supplies of water and high-energy nutrition supplies needed to treat malnourished children.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.