BRUSSELS: All of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants lack sufficient food and face malnutrition a month into Israel’s devastating siege of the Palestinian enclave, a World Food Programme official said on Thursday.
Humanitarian aid has only trickled into Gaza since Israel began bombarding the densely populated enclave in response to Hamas’ raid on southern Israel that killed some 1,400 people on Oct. 7. United Nations officials say the supplies coming into Gaza are nowhere near enough to meet the population’s needs.
“Before October 7th, 33 percent of the population were food insecure,” said Kyung-nan Park, director of emergencies for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). “We can safely say that 100 percent are food insecure at this moment.”
She said WFP needed $112 million to be able to reach 1.1 million people in Gaza in the next 90 days. “They are facing the risk of malnutrition,” she said.
In addition to funding, WFP also needs regular entry into Gaza and safe access once inside to be able to reach the people in need, she added.
Since re-opening of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza border with Egypt for humanitarian cargo on Oct. 21, the daily average number of trucks that have crossed into Gaza has been less than 19 percent of what it had been before the conflict, according to the UN humanitarian office.
“Right now we’re entering 40 to 50 trucks,” Kyung-nan said of WFP. “For just WFP food assistance, we would need 100 trucks a day to be able to provide any meaningful humanitarian food to the people in Gaza.”
Kyung-nan said WFP staff members in Gaza themselves did not have enough to eat. WFP used to work with more than 23 bakeries in the densely populated enclave but only one is still functioning due to the lack of fuel and supplies, she said.
“There are stories of people going there, being in line for ten days and leaving empty handed,” she said. “It’s quite serious.”
Gaza population lacks food, faces malnutrition, UN food program official says
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Gaza population lacks food, faces malnutrition, UN food program official says
- Kyung-nan Park, director of emergencies for WFP said: “We can safely say that 100 percent are food insecure at this moment"
- WFP needed $112 million to be able to reach 1.1 million people in Gaza in the next 90 days
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
