The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday that Israeli soldiers opened fire on an aid convoy as it was returning from the northern Gaza Strip on a route designated by the army itself, amid worsening humanitarian conditions in the Strip and the scarcity of aid, the entry of which is controlled by the occupation authorities.
UNRWA Director in Gaza, Thomas White, wrote on the X platform that no one was harmed; But one of the vehicles was damaged, stressing that relief workers should never be a target.
The UN official indicated yesterday, Thursday, that the Gaza Strip is suffering from catastrophic hunger, and 40% of the population is now at risk of famine.
He stressed that every day in Gaza is a struggle to find water and food, and that there is a need for more aid.
Obstructive conditions
In this context, the head of United Nations humanitarian operations, Martin Griffiths, criticized the conditions for delivering aid to Gaza, saying that there were delays at crossing points and shooting targeting humanitarian convoys.
Griffiths described the task of delivering aid to Gaza as “impossible”, with trucks carrying aid and relief crews being targeted.
He denounced the fact that humanitarian workers are displaced and being killed, also recalling that traumatized and exhausted residents are crowded into an ever-smaller piece of land, in reference to repeated Israeli evacuation orders.
Griffiths regretted that there were three levels of inspection from the Israeli side and through the Rafah crossing before trucks could enter Gaza, especially with the increasing list of products prohibited from entering.
He stressed that the fighting must stop, warning of an impossible situation for the people of Gaza and for those who come to help.
The residents of the Gaza Strip face the risk of death from starvation, especially with the spread of diseases resulting from immunodeficiency due to lack of food, crowding in narrow spaces, or siege in areas from which it is difficult to exit, in the absence of adequate aid.
A ceasefire is a necessity
For its part, Doctors Without Borders said that the UN Security Council’s decision to bring urgent aid into the Gaza Strip is not a solution as long as a ceasefire is not declared.
She stressed that the only solution to end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is to end collective punishment, and that it is impossible to provide medical assistance to those in need in light of the continued bombing.
On December 23, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for urgent steps to immediately allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and create conditions for a ceasefire.
