Israel is allowing some aid into the Gaza Strip, but not enough to prevent a major famine, the UN human rights office said today.
“In recent weeks, the Israeli authorities have only allowed aid in quantities far below what would be needed to prevent a major famine,” UN human rights spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan told a news briefing in Geneva.
He added that the risk of famine in Gaza was “a direct consequence of the Israeli government’s policy of blocking humanitarian aid.”
The Israeli military agency coordinating aid, COGAT, said Israel was making “significant efforts” to distribute aid to Gaza, Reuters reported.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned on Saturday that at least a million women and girls in the Gaza Strip are facing mass starvation due to months of Israeli blockade and the devastating military campaign over the enclave.
“Women and girls in Gaza are facing mass starvation, violence, and abuse,” UNRWA stated in a post on the social platform of the company X, based in the United States (U.S.).
“They are forced to resort to increasingly dangerous survival strategies, such as going out in search of food and water, exposed to extreme risk of death,” the UN agency added.
The agency called for the lifting of the blockade of Gaza and the massive delivery of humanitarian aid.
Gaza is facing one of the most difficult humanitarian crises in its history, with hunger further worsening due to the ongoing conflict.
Since March 2nd, Israel has closed all border crossings into the enclave, blocking humanitarian aid and pushing the Gaza Strip towards starvation, despite thousands of trucks waiting at the border. Only a small portion of deliveries has been allowed, which is far below the needs of the starving population.
At the beginning of this month, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned that a third of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents went several days without food.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed nearly 61.900 Palestinians in Gaza. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the brink of starvation.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its military action against the enclave.
