The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has disclosed that shortages in Gaza had caused food prices to increase by 40 times, while the aid stockpiled in its warehouses outside Gaza could feed “the entire population for over three months.”
The agency said in a post on X that it was “receiving desperate messages of starvation” from its Gaza staff, as the Palestinian territory experiences surging levels of hunger.
Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, with doctors, the civil defence agency and medical charity; Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reporting a spike in malnutrition cases in recent days.
“The suffering in Gaza is manmade and must be stopped. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale.”
UNRWA
After talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down, Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza on 2 March, allowing nothing in until trucks were again permitted at a trickle in late May.
The civil defence agency on Sunday reported at least three infant deaths from “severe hunger and malnutrition” in the past week.
The ministry said that 18 reportedly died of starvation within 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the Director of Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital said that infants under one year of age suffer from a lack of milk, “which leads to a significant decrease in their weight and a decrease in their immunity that makes them vulnerable to diseases.”
Israel on Monday said that there was “no ban or restriction on the entry of baby formula or baby food into Gaza.”
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said that over 2,000 tons of baby food and infant formula were delivered into Gaza, without specifying the time frame.
The body in a post on X urged international organisations to continue coordinating with it to ensure the entry of baby food and formula without delay. “Our commitment remains firm: to support humanitarian aid for civilians – not for Hamas,” it added.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), only two trucks of fuel are entering Gaza each day, putting critical water and sanitation services at risk.
UNRWA warned that “fuel levels remain very low” and that without enough supply, “water cannot be delivered by UNRWA to people in Gaza.”
As the summer heat intensifies, access to clean water has become even more scarce. “Water wells are hard to reach due to non-stop bombardments and forced displacement orders,” the agency said.
UNRWA added that vital infrastructure is on the verge of collapse, and called for urgent international action: “Lift the siege.”
The warning comes as humanitarian agencies say Gaza is facing total service shutdowns without immediate fuel access.
UK, 24 Other Countries Call For ‘Immediate’ End To War In Gaza
Meanwhile, the UK and more than 20 other countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and said that the Israeli government’s aid delivery model was “dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.”
The statement was signed by the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, as well as the foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
The joint statement said that the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. It condemned the “drip feeding” of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.
The countries called on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and “urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.”
They added that they are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.
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