Israeli military operations continue to dismantle the means of survival for 2.1 million Palestinians, 600 days since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, UN humanitarians said Wednesday, reported Xinhua.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that dozens of people were reportedly shot and injured among the thousands rushing on Tuesday to gain access to a new aid distribution point near Rafah set up by the new U.S.-sponsored and Israeli-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
OCHA said the incident is one of the events demonstrating a collective punishment of Palestinians, an accelerating assault on their human dignity.
"The newly developed distribution scheme is more than just the control of aid," said Jonathan Whittall, OCHA's head of office for the occupied Palestinian territory, speaking in Jerusalem. "It is engineered scarcity: four distribution hubs located in central and southern Gaza, secured by private U.S. security contractors, where those Palestinians who can reach them will receive rations."
He said the new distribution model could not possibly meet Gaza's needs since it falls short of minimum obligations under international law.
Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that since last week, about 900 truckloads of aid were submitted for Israeli approval, and 800 were green-lighted. But only 500 could be offloaded on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, and even fewer made it to the Palestinian side.
"We and our partners could collect just over 200 of them, limited by insecurity and restricted access," Dujarric said.
The spokesman said Israeli authorities also continue to deny attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, including one to retrieve fuel from Rafah. Overall, all six coordinated movements were denied on Wednesday alone.
"They sure aren't making it easy for us," he said.
OCHA said aid should flow at scale through multiple crossings into Gaza.
"We need unimpeded access to and from these crossings," the office said.
The humanitarians said their partners report people continue to be displaced amid ongoing hostilities and displacement orders issued by the Israeli authorities. Those on the move lack tents, tarpaulins, food and water, among other essential supplies.
OCHA said health partners reported that as of last week, only half of the hospitals in Gaza were partially functioning. Eight field hospitals, along with about 200 mobile clinics and health centers, have suspended their services across Gaza due to hostilities, attacks and displacement orders.
The office said that on Tuesday in Gaza City, an airstrike reportedly hit a community kitchen, killing one person and injuring another. Other kitchens still operating in Gaza continue to serve about 300,000 meals daily through more than a dozen partners, with whatever stocks remain.
OCHA said its education partners reported distributing 75 furniture sets to learning spaces. The furniture, which was recycled from wooden pallets, will help support children's access to education. Displacement orders have directly impacted hundreds of learning spaces, and about 90 percent of education facilities need major rehabilitation or reconstruction.
Meanwhile, a UN spokesman on Wednesday rejected Israel's claim that the world body has failed to pick up humanitarian supplies for Gaza at a border crossing.
UN humanitarians in Gaza continue to put their lives at risk, trying to pick up aid from Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem, the only crossing that is open, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The spokesman made the statement in response to Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon's claim earlier Wednesday that the United Nations failed to pick up more than 400 truckloads of aid on the Gaza side of the crossing.
"As we speak, there are more than 400 trucks already on the Gaza side of the fence, waiting to be distributed. But the UN has failed to pick them up," Danon told reporters. "We opened the crossings. We provided safe routes for those trucks. But the UN did not show up."
Dujarric said UN staff in Gaza "are not sitting on their hands."
"Our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are living in a time of great despair because they're also wondering where their next meal is going to come from. They're not sitting on their hands, neither are international colleagues who keep going in and out of Gaza," said the spokesman. "They are continuing to put their lives at risk, trying to pick up the aid from the one and only crossing that is open."
Dujarric said that picking up aid from the Gaza side is extremely difficult.
"What happens is that we submit goods that we want to bring into Gaza. The Israelis then decide which ones they will approve. The trucks then come in from the Israeli side into Kerem Shalom. The goods have to go on what is referred to as sterile trucks," he said. "So that already takes time. Then they have to be loaded on the Palestinian trucks. In order for us to go pick up those goods, we have to get clearance from the Israelis."
All the missions that the United Nations asked for on Wednesday had been denied by the Israeli authorities, said the spokesman.
"If we're not able to pick up those goods, I can tell you one thing: it is not for lack of trying," he said.
Asked whether the United Nations believes that Israel is hampering the UN humanitarian efforts on purpose, the spokesman said, "You have to ask them what their motivation is. But I can tell you, they sure aren't making it easy for us."
Dujarric challenged the Israeli authorities to allow the international press into Gaza to see what is happening.
"One way to clear up the dueling narratives that you hear would be for international journalists to be allowed into Gaza. So everyone — you and your organizations — could see things with your own eyes," he said.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
