Geneva – Together – The United Nations confirmed that Israel is disrupting the distribution of food within the Gaza Strip, where famine looms, more than other humanitarian aid.
“UN-coordinated food deliveries are more vulnerable to obstruction or denial of access than any other humanitarian mission,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in Geneva on Tuesday.
‘This means,’ he added, citing March statistics, ‘that food convoys expected to head especially to the north, where 70% of the population is suffering from famine-like conditions, are three times more likely to be rejected than other humanitarian convoys.’
Laerke stressed that the statistics reported by the “Cogat” Authority of the Israeli Ministry of Defense regarding aid are “meaningless” for several reasons. First, the trucks it inspects are generally only half full. This is a demand she set, explaining that once these trucks are inspected, the United Nations redistributes the
aid inside them to take advantage of the space, so it is natural that ‘the numbers never match.’
He added, “Secondly, counting and comparing the trucks inspected and the aid provided on a daily basis does not make any sense because it does not take into account the delay that occurs” between these two stages.
The reason for these delays is due in particular to the operating hours of the crossing points and to the fact that Israel requires that ‘Egyptian drivers and their trucks not be present in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and their trucks’ who receive the goods. After that, the convoys must obtain a license from the Israeli authorities. To move in Gaza.
Laerke added that the main problem is obtaining permits and guarantees that aid distribution can proceed unhindered.
He explained, “Half of the convoys that we tried to send to the north carrying food were rejected by these same authorities.”
Source: Maan News Agency