GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Human rights organizations warned on Wednesday against the Israeli blocking of Gaza crossings for the fourth consecutive day, preventing delivery of food, fuel, and other aid supplies to more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the closure comes as part of Israel’s “starvation policy”.
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Communications Adviser in Palestine, Shaina Low, said that there is no major stockpile of tents in Gaza for Palestinians to rely on during the aid freeze. The aid that came in during the ceasefire’s first phase was “nowhere near enough to address all of the needs,” she said.
“If it was enough, we wouldn’t have had infants dying from exposure (to cold) because of lack of shelter materials and warm clothes and proper medical equipment to treat them,” she said.
“We are trying to figure out, what do we have? What would be the best use of our supply?” said Jonathan Crickx, chief of communication for UNICEF.
“We never sat on supplies, so it’s not like there’s a huge amount left to distribute,” he added, predicting a “catastrophic result” if the freeze continues.
During the ceasefire’s first phase, humanitarian agencies rushed in supplies and quickly ramped up their capabilities. Aid workers set up more food kitchens, health centers and water distribution points.
With more fuel coming in, they were able to double the amount of water drawn from wells, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency, OCHA.
The United Nations and associated nongovernmental organizations brought in around 100,000 tents as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians tried to return to their homes, only to find them destroyed or too damaged to live in.
The International Organization for Migration now has 22,500 tents sitting in its warehouses in Jordan, after supply trucks brought back their undelivered cargo once entry was barred, said Karl Baker, the agency’s regional crisis coordinator.
For his part, Bob Kitchen, vice president of the Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Department, said, “The International Rescue Committee has 6.7 tons of medicines and medical supplies waiting to enter Gaza, the delivery of which is now “highly uncertain”.
“It’s imperative that aid access is now immediately resumed. With humanitarian needs sky-high, more aid access is required, not less,” Kitchen added.
Medical Aid for Palestinians said it has trucks stuck at the border carrying medicine, mattresses, and assistive devices for people with disabilities, but they don’t have stock that can be used during a long closure of Gaza.
The UN’s humanitarian office also said prices of vegetables and flour soar following the closure of the crossings.
Last Sunday, Israeli occupation authorities decided to freeze the entry of all humanitarian aid to Gaza, closing crossings with the Strip, claiming that Hamas rejected a proposal to extend the first phase of the three-stage agreement for another 42 days.
Hamas demands that the occupation authorities be obligated by the stipulated ceasefire agreement announced on January 19, and called on the mediators to start immediately the negotiations of the second stage, including the Israeli withdrawal from the Strip and ending the war.
Last Saturday evening, the first stage of the ceasefire agreement ended, while negotiations for the second stage were supposed to start on the 16th day of the first stage on February 3.
Since ceasefire came into force on January 19, the Israeli occupation has committed hundreds of violations, which led to more than 117 martyrs and hundreds of wounded, as well as the failure to implement the human protocol.
