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THE humanitarian situation in Gaza ‘could soon escalate into famine’ as Israeli forces continue to severely restrict the entry of food and other supplies into the enclave, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned yesterday.
On the same day, UNRWA, the UN agency for supporting Palestinian refugees, said Israel’s ban on its operations would lead to the ‘collapse’ of humanitarian work in the besieged Strip.
‘If this law is implemented, it would be likely to cause the collapse of the international humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip – an operation of which UNRWA is the backbone,’ said Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA spokesman,
Juliette Touma, global communications officer for UNRWA, says two million people depend on UNRWA for food assistance and healthcare.
‘Who is going to replace UNRWA? When this brutal war finally comes to an end, who will provide education to 400,000 children who go to UNRWA schools, who? What is the plan? We don’t have any answer to that,’ she said.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Israeli authorities allowed only 30 trucks of aid a day to enter Gaza, bringing assistance to its ‘lowest in a long time’.
This is equivalent to only six per cent of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza before the war broke out on October 7th, 2023, he said on social media platform X.
The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor accused the European Union (EU), International Criminal Court (ICC), and International Court of Justice (ICJ), and various United Nations bodies of having ‘neglected their fundamental duty to safeguard civilian life and stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.’
It said the failure of the international community to implement ‘decisive’ actions against Israel’s atrocities ‘exposes a stark disregard for Palestinian lives and dignity, and fuels the continuation of its crime of genocide.’
It attributed the failure to ‘political calculations and the influence of powerful nations complicit in the genocide’, in an apparent reference to Israel’s closest ally, the US and other Western countries.
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