The United Nations (UN) warned that essential supplies for survival in the Gaza Strip are running out, calling on all countries to exert their influence to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected.
Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya stated in a briefing to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, “the level of suffering in Gaza defies our ability to capture it in words, or even to comprehend its scale.” “Reality is brutal in Gaza, and it gets worse every day, as the bombs continue to fall, as fierce fighting continues unabated, and as supplies essential for people’s survival and humanitarian assistance are blocked at every turn,” she added.
She stressed that “international humanitarian law must be respected and this Council, and all member states, must exert all their influence to ensure it, and civilians must be protected, and their essential needs must be met, whether they move or stay.” Msuya also stre
ssed that humanitarian operations must be facilitated, hospitals and medical personnel must be protected, and hostages must be immediately released.
She noted that no food aid entered northern Gaza during the period of Oct. 2-15, when very little was allowed in, and all essential supplies for survival were running out.
Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Director of United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) Affairs in Gaza Scott Anderson stressed the need to create a conducive environment for the large-scale entry of aid to support the population of the Strip including between 250 and 300 trucks per day in the south and between 30 and 40 per day in the north.
He explained that only 12 trucks carrying food had been able to reach northern Gaza since Sept. 30.
He noted that there are 100,000 metric tons of food between the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and UNRWA waiting to be imported into Gaza.
“That is enough for everybody for three to four months. So, the supply is there, and the willingness is there. T
he environment, unfortunately, is not there,” Anderson added.
He said that the UN is coordinating closely with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) to try to create a suitable environment.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the IOF has been committing a genocide on the Gaza Strip, murdering at least 42,409 civilians and injuring at least 99,153 others, the majority of whom are children and women, while thousands of victims remain missing under the rubble.
Source: Qatar News Agency