Aid delivery to Gaza slowed by dispute over responsibility for convoy security
Kyiv • UNN
The delivery of aid to Gaza has slowed due to disputes over security responsibilities and infrastructure constraints, which is exacerbating malnutrition among children.
The delivery of aid in the Palestinian enclave has stopped. Only a part of the necessary food is being delivered to the northern regions, where, according to hospitals, children have begun to die of malnutrition. Reuters writes , UNN reports.
Details
Reuters writes, citing data from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, that last week Israeli forces killed 118 people trying to receive aid from a humanitarian convoy. Israel, in turn, said that most of the dead were not shot, but trampled or killed during the panic.
These deaths have drawn attention to what has gone wrong with aid in Gaza, where the UN complains of "overwhelming obstacles" while Israel claims it is doing everything it can and that the UN is responsible for delivery.
Despite the famine approaching catastrophic levels in some parts of Gaza and the large amount of aid waiting in warehouses for delivery, the flow of supplies has slowed. According to the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, which is also linked to Hamas, an average of about 97 trucks entered Gaza daily in February, down from 150 trucks in January.
One of the big problems with deliveries is the lack of security in Gaza. UNRWA has repeatedly complained about the lack of access and argues that Israel should be responsible for facilitating the delivery of aid.
All we ask is for safe passage so that we can deliver the aid.
Israel, in turn, accused UNRWA of involvement in the October 7 attack that provoked the war, which UNRWA denied.
Shimon Friedman, a spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli military branch that handles aid transfers, said they provide coordination for the convoys. However, he said, the actual deliveries and security ultimately depend on humanitarian agencies and the UN.
UN agencies operating on the ground are responsible for the security of the convoys themselves.
Because land routes to Gaza are difficult to access, countries including the United States have begun airborne assaults, which Friedman says are supported by Israel.
Parachutes carrying large boxes of humanitarian aid descended on a Gaza beach on Tuesday morning. However, humanitarian organizations say that airdrops are an inefficient way to deliver supplies. The reason is that they deliver less by air than trucks can carry.
Last week, Israel also began working with private contractors to deliver aid to shelters in northern Gaza.
Organizations on the ground do not currently have the infrastructure or sufficient infrastructure to support or have the same distribution capabilities as we do to screen and deliver aid to Gaza.
As a way around this, he said, "we facilitated and coordinated connections between private contractors.
The publication noted that this was one of the convoys that was at the center of last week's disaster, which the Palestinian Ministry of Health dubbed a massacre and Israel called a tragedy.
Optional
The World Health Organization said that the rate of malnutrition among children under 2 years of age in Gaza compared to three months earlier was unprecedented, indicating a "serious and rapid decline.
The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that "we call on Israel to ensure the safe and regular delivery of humanitarian aid". US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also called on Israel to maximize the use of "all possible means" to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling the situation unacceptable.
