Geneva/Tel Aviv, Mar. 25, (dpa/GNA) – No aid deliveries are getting through to the northern Gaza Strip, despite urgent warnings of famine, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reported on Monday.
This follows the head of UNRWA’s comments on Sunday saying Israeli authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any UNRWA food convoys into northern Gaza, where Philippe Lazzarini said people are on the verge of famine.
UNRWA said that an average of 157 trucks carrying aid had entered the zone this month up to and including Saturday. It confirmed that Israel has since rejected urgent UNRWA food convoys to enter northern Gaza.
“This remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 per day, with challenges at both Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah,” UNRWA said, in reference to crossings in the south of the Gaza Strip into Israel and Egypt respectively.
The agency had submitted requests for aid approval since Thursday, but all of them were denied with no reason given.
It added that managing the crossings had been severely impacted by the killing of several Palestinian policemen in Israeli airstrikes near the crossings in early February.
Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA officials of involvement in the October 7 attacks and halted cooperation with the agency. UNRWA subsequently fired several employees.
Lazzarini said blocking UNRWA aid to the north is “outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine.”
Israel has rejected accusations it is hindering aid deliveries into Gaza, instead accusing aid organizations of not distributing them properly, while the groups say they are lacking proper protection.