21 June 2024
From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)
#Gaza is an active war zone with a complex operating environment for aid agencies including @UNRWA.
Aid at scale is not reaching people in need, eight months on a brutal war.
What are the restrictions and why is it a challenge?
– Israeli Forces’ military operations & armed Palestinian groups activities.
– A limited number of open crossing points into Gaza
– Insecurity for humanitarian workers & installations despite deconfliction and coordination with parties to the conflict
– A near total breakdown in law and order leading to regular looting + threats & assaults of truck drivers. This is made worse by cigarettes smuggling making any humanitarian convoy a target for attacks.
– Regular denials and delays by Israeli Forces for coordinated movement and convoys
– Large gatherings of desperate people who self-distribute humanitarian supplies
– Logistics, security & communication equipment banned entry into Gaza, limiting the ability of the aid community to move and communicate safely.
What is urgently needed?
-> Uninterrupted, regular, coordinated & meaningful flow of humanitarian assistance
-> Safety & security including for aid workers and their assets & local police escort for convoys
-> Safe routes & consistent standard operating hours of crossing points
-> A ceasefire committed to by all parties to the conflict
Failing that will increase chaos & despair of 2 million people to new levels + prevent the humanitarian community to operate.
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Access and movement, Armed conflict, Assistance, Gaza Strip, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 21/06/2024
URL source: https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/humanitarian-aid-delivery-gaza-continues-be-constrained