Critical Shortages and Escalating Challenges: Humanitarian Agencies Struggle Amid Gaza Crisis, Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General (excerpt on the crisis situation in Gaza) – 01 August 2024

01 August 2024

(Excerpt)

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OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that ongoing hostilities, repeated evacuation orders, access impediments and other challenges continue to hamper efforts to reach people with life-saving assistance.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says that them and other agencies are still unable to get enough food into and around Gaza. There are not enough border crossings; it is difficult to get authorizations to move convoys within Gaza; and there are often long delays in holding areas, as well as a lack of public order and safety that continues to hamper movements.

More than 20 WFP food distribution points have been lost due to recent evacuation orders, and kitchens and bakeries have been forced to relocate.

The escalation of hostilities has also rendered two warehouses unusable for the time being and cut off parts of Salah El Din – the main road in Gaza – limiting WFP’s ability to deliver across the Strip.

In response to last week’s evacuation order issued in Khan Younis, WFP is distributing one food parcel per family to support displaced people, reaching about 8,000 families so far. With increased needs and limited stocks, the agency is having to reduce rations to one parcel per family to ensure people get food to meet their most basic needs. But it is not enough.

Today, only 12 of 18 bakeries in Gaza are operating: four in Gaza city, two in northern Gaza, and six in Deir al Balah. Bakeries in middle areas only have enough fuel to operate for a few days.

Despite all these challenges, WFP was able to reach nearly 1.2 million people with food, wheat flour, or hot meals last month. However, rations were reduced and irregular.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian partners working on the water, sanitation and hygiene response in Gaza are concerned over the destruction of the Canada reservoir in Rafah. That facility, with a holding capacity of some 3,000 cubic meters of water, was blown up last week. Colleagues warn that its destruction could hinder the return of residents to Rafah and further push families to resort to drinking unsafe water – risking dehydration, malnutrition and diseases.

UN RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST 

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says it is launching the back-to-learning programme in Gaza today to help the region’s one million children cope and just be children.

In its first phase, UNRWA will expand the ongoing psychosocial support activities, focusing on arts, music and sports, and raising awareness on the risks of explosive ordnance.

In its second phase, the programme will include informal learning activities, with reading, writing and math lessons.

UNRWA plans to provide formal education for children in Gaza as soon as the situation permits. For this, Gaza urgently needs an immediate, durable ceasefire, the agency says.

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