Humanitarian aid to northern Gaza has been largely blocked for the past two months, leaving 65,000 to 75,000 Palestinians without access to basic necessities like food, water, and healthcare. The United Nations reports that civilians are facing a “devastating situation” due to a breakdown in law and order and looting.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says only four bakeries are operating in Gaza City, while schools in northern Gaza have been forced to close. Civilians have been forcibly displaced from their homes, with about 5,500 people relocated from three schools in Beit Lahiya to Gaza City.
The UN’s senior humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, is urging Israel to allow aid convoys into the region and reopen the Rafah crossing to Egypt. However, Israel has yet to comment on her remarks. The UN believes that without “political will”, humanitarians cannot deliver aid effectively.
Kaag emphasized that the establishment of a logistics operation in Gaza is only half the solution, and that international pressure is needed to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aid-united-nations-f529bf77d09e609265179e259b799c6b