Recently, a joint convoy of 109 United Nations trucks carrying food for the population of Gaza was violently looted. The vast majority of trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced to unload aid under threat of arms.
The severe shortage of flour has left the eight UN-backed bakeries in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis operating at a very low capacity for weeks. Many of them have been forced to close down completely.
If immediate action is not taken, the food crisis will become more acute, putting at greater risk the lives of over two million people who depend on humanitarian aid for their survival.
The Israeli authorities continue to ignore their legal obligations under international law, which require them to ensure the provision of basic needs for the population and facilitate safe access for humanitarian aid. These responsibilities continue until assistance actually reaches those in need in the Gaza Strip.
Israel blocks humanitarian aid and continues to attack humanitarian workers. International organizations and civil society have repeatedly denounced the inhuman way in which Israel is conducting this war, despite calls from the UN to: The resolutions of the Security Council and binding orders of the International Court of Justice.
In recent days, the Israeli government has implemented policies that prevent Palestinians from receiving vital assistance such as water, food and fuel, and have called these actions “illegal and systematic interference with humanitarian aid”.
This situation is compounded by the continued air strikes and explosive charges over Gaza, which continue to increase fatalities, land devastation and destruction of critical infrastructure. This violence continues to aggravate the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian population, putting them in an increasingly unsustainable situation.
