DaysofPal- The United Nations has issued an urgent warning that approximately 14,000 infants in the Gaza Strip are at imminent risk of death within the next 48 hours if humanitarian aid is not immediately allowed into the besieged territory.
Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator, issued the alarm Tuesday, calling the situation “catastrophic” after Israeli restrictions that have stopped life-saving supplies from entering Gaza for almost three months.
Fletcher told reporters that only five trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday, calling the number a “drop in the bucket” following an 11-week blockade.
He emphasized that the limited aid that did make it through has not yet reached the hardest-hit areas where needs are most severe. According to Fletcher, widespread malnutrition has left mothers unable to feed their children, pushing thousands of infants to the brink of starvation.
“We are risking everything to get food to the children,” Fletcher said. “There are 14,000 babies at risk of death, and we hope we can save as many as possible over the next two days.”
Fletcher’s caution followed a rare joint statement from the UK, France, and Canada that denounced the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called the current state of humanitarian access “totally inadequate.”
Fletcher welcomed what he called a “clear escalation in international positions,” adding that the UN is urgently working to facilitate the entry of at least 100 trucks carrying baby formula and essential food items into Gaza. He called for a massive scale-up of humanitarian deliveries, stating, “We need to flood Gaza with aid to save lives.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) echoed Fletcher’s alarm, issuing a stern condemnation of the severely restricted flow of humanitarian assistance. The agency warned that the people of Gaza are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began on October 7, 2023. UNRWA emphasized that the population urgently requires continuous, large-scale support to prevent the complete collapse of food security and the onset of full-scale famine.
Despite Israeli claims that it had approved the entry of 100 aid trucks, only five of the eleven trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing were allowed in on Tuesday. The actual delivery, according to an EU official, was “a drop in the ocean,” highlighting the mounting annoyance among global stakeholders over Israel’s management of humanitarian access.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini accused Israel of using hunger as a tool for political and military leverage. “Israel is exploiting hunger and food for political and military purposes,” he said. “Gaza needs massive, unimpeded, and uninterrupted support to ensure that the worsening hunger suffered by the people of Gaza is addressed.”
UNRWA further warned that the intensive and indiscriminate Israeli bombardment by air, land, and sea continues to cause mass civilian casualties and displacement, exacerbating the suffering of an already devastated population. The agency reiterated its call for the immediate depoliticization of humanitarian aid, stressing that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, with widespread malnutrition and collapsing health infrastructure.
Since March 2, Israel has effectively tightened its grip on the Gaza Strip by closing key border crossings, preventing thousands of tons of aid from reaching the population. As a result, 2.4 million Palestinians have been subjected to deliberate starvation tactics, pushing Gaza toward a man-made famine that has already claimed numerous lives.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=63136
