The OCHA report stated that Israeli authorities have authorized the use “of only one” primary border crossing preventing humanitarian assistance or commercial goods from entering.
Israel continues to restrict and deny the planned movement of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations.
“A new OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) report (dated March 1 – 31) on access constraints in Gaza said restrictions and denials of planned aid movements by Israeli authorities continue to hamper the delivery of life-saving assistance,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Monday.
He added that during March, “more than half of the UN-coordinated food missions to high-risk areas requiring coordination with the Israeli authorities were either denied or impeded.”
There was “just one primary route designated for access by humanitarian workers between southern and northern Gaza — with only limited use of the so-called Fence Road on Gaza’s eastern border thus far.”
Gaza Genocide – Israeli Raids Leave Scores Dead, Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
‘Operational Bottleneck’
The OCHA report stated that Israeli authorities have authorized the use “of only one” primary border crossing preventing humanitarian assistance or commercial goods from entering directly into northern Gaza, “where levels of catastrophic food insecurity and humanitarian needs are most acute.”
“In addition, lengthy inspection processes, fuel shortages resulting from Israeli restrictions, and restrictions on the movement of trucks, convoys, and vetted drivers create significant delays, while congestion at the Kerem Shalom crossing present a major operational bottleneck.”
The report further said that in March, in areas requiring coordination with the Israeli military, “that only 26 per cent of requested humanitarian food missions were facilitated by Israeli authorities.”
The remaining convoys “were denied by Israeli authorities (40 per cent), postponed (20 per cent), impeded (11 per cent), or withdrawn (3 per cent) due to prevailing restrictions, security concerns, or operational constraints,” the report said.
‘Empty Shell with Human Graves’ – WHO Decries Devastation of Al-Shifa Hospital
Al-Shifa Hospital
Dujarric also said that OCHA and the World Health Organization (WHO) teams finally reached the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza late last week “after finally getting permission from the Israeli authorities to do so.”
“Our colleagues at OCHA reported that the hospital had been destroyed and deserted,” the spokesperson noted. “The World Health Organization said that shallow graves had been dug just outside of the emergency department and other buildings.”
The WHO Chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Saturday declared that Al-Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip’s largest medical is unlikely to regain even basic functionality soon.
“Even restoring minimal functionality in the short term seems implausible,” Tedros stated on X.
After a two-week-long invasion and siege, the Israeli military withdrew from the hospital on April 1, leaving it in ruins and completely out of service.
Many buildings in several departments have been destroyed and hundreds of Palestinians were killed and detained by Israeli occupation forces, as The Palestine Chronicle explains.
This is What Happened at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza – Palestine Chronicle Explains
Over 33,300 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 33,360 Palestinians have been killed, and 75,993 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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