NEW YORK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that more than one million people in the Gaza Strip will face a severe food shortage if humanitarian aid deliveries do not resume, due to Israel’s continued closure of the crossings.
In a statement on its website on Wednesday, it emphasized that the available stocks in the Strip are rapidly depleting. It noted that UN partners, in response to the crisis, have drastically reduced food aid, suspended the distribution of flour and fresh food items, and decreased the quantity of hot meals in public kitchens.
The office also warned that if the situation continues as it is, at least 80 out of 170 public kitchens in the Strip will be forced to close within a week or two.
On another note, OCHA announced that more than 170 children have been killed during the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
The office indicated that the total number of martyrs due to these airstrikes has exceeded 400 citizens, including more than 170 children and 80 women. It pointed out that rescue teams and paramedics have been unable to reach many victims due to a lack of equipment, fuel, and heavy machinery.
The office clarified that only 4 field hospitals are fully operational in the enclave, while 22 hospitals and 6 field hospitals are working partially, and 13 hospitals and 4 field hospitals have completely ceased operations due to destruction and shortage of medical staff and medicines.
The Israeli army unexpectedly and violently resumed its extermination war on Gaza, through intense bombing operations targeting various areas of the Gaza Strip during the pre-dawn meal on Tuesday, resulting in the martyrdom of 439 Palestinian civilians, including about 174 children, 89 women, and 32 elderly people, according to data published by the Government Media Office.
This attack represents the largest violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States on January 19, and adds to a long series of Israeli aggressions and violations since the announcement of the agreement, exacerbating the humanitarian tragedy and deepening the crisis faced by Palestinians in Gaza under the suffocating siege and ongoing aggression.
On March 2, the occupying authorities closed the Gaza crossings and prevented the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, claiming that Hamas refused to respond to the proposal of the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, Steve Weitzman.
With U.S. support, Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in over 161,000 martyrs and injured Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.
