On Sunday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees announced that Israel has permanently prohibited them from delivering aid to the northern Gaza region, where the risk of starvation is greatest.
“Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @UNRWA food convoys to the north,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, said on X.
“This is outrageous & makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man made famine.”
When AFP reached out to Israel on Sunday for comment over Lazzarini’s remarks, Israel did not answer right away.
Juliette Touma, the head of communications for UNRWA, told AFP that the decision was communicated during a Sunday meeting with Israeli military officials. It came after two written denials for supplies to the north via convoy last week.
Touma stated that no explanation for the choice was provided.
Israel launched its war on Hamas about six months ago after Hamas launched an unprecedented onslaught on southern Israel on October 7. As a result, Gaza is currently experiencing extremely difficult humanitarian conditions.
According to a UN-backed food security assessment released last week, starvation is expected to strike the northern part of Gaza by May unless immediate action is taken.
UNRWA has not been able to deliver food to the north since January 29, Touma said.
“The latest decision is another nail in the coffin” for efforts to get desperately needed aid to Gazans reeling from war, Touma said.
Martin Griffiths, head of the UN humanitarian coordination office, said on X on Sunday that UNRWA “is the beating heart of the humanitarian response in Gaza”.
He added: “The decision to block its food convoys to the north only pushes thousands closer to famine. It must be revoked.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said on X that blocking UNRWA aid deliveries was “in fact denying starving people the ability to survive”.
Earlier Sunday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an end to the “non-stop nightmare” endured by Gaza’s 2.4 million people in the territory’s worst-ever war.
Israel has accused UNRWA staff members of participating in the October 7 attack and called the agency “a front for Hamas”.
According to Touma, Israeli officials turned down a request by the UN on Sunday to send a team to the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, where combat has been raging for nearly a week, “to evacuate people who are injured”.
An AFP calculation of Israeli numbers indicates that 1,160 persons, largely civilians, were killed in the October 7 strike.
The health ministry in the zone controlled by Hamas reports that at least 32,226 individuals have died as a result of Israel’s military effort to destroy Hamas, the majority of them were women and children.
