The United Nations alleged that Israeli forces are blocking aid deliveries into famine-stricken northern Gaza as the five-month-long war grinds on despite recent strong demands from the top UN court and the Security Council for open aid access into the enclave and for a temporary ceasefire and the return of all hostages taken in October.
Access impediments continue to severely compromise the ability of humanitarians to reach people in Gaza, UNRWA said.
According to the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, since March 1, 30 per cent of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza have been denied by Israeli authorities.
There have only been 159 aid trucks entering Gaza on average per day, well below the operational target of 500 trucks needed daily, the UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at Headquarters on Monday.
In its latest situation report, the specialist UN Palestine relief agency UNRWA said Israeli Security Forces (ISF) continued military operations across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 32,000 people in Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas-led incursion into Israel that left almost 1,200 dead and more than 240 taken hostages.
Airstrikes and bombardment continued in north Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah. UNRWA estimates the vast majority of a total of 1.2 million people in Gaza are now living in shelters, the UN agency reported.
Over 100 UNRWA schools have been directly or indirectly hit, with some being severely damaged. Many have been used as shelters for displaced families since the war began.
“No place is safe in GazaStrip. This is a war on children. On their childhood and their future. Ceasefire now,” UNRWA posted on social media.
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