Aid agencies are in “a race against time” to get food and other humanitarian supplies into Gaza, a UN official has warned, as Israeli restrictions continue to impede deliveries across the bombarded enclave.
Speaking on Tuesday, a senior spokesperson for the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) noted that aid deliveries have increased since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last month. But only two crossings into Gaza are open, which “severely limits the quantity of aid” that the WFP and other agencies can bring in, said Abeer Etefa.
“We need full access. We need everything to be moving fast. We are in a race against time. The winter months are coming. People are still suffering from hunger, and the needs are overwhelming,” she said.The U-N food agency says aid groups are racing against time to deliver food and other humanitarian supplies to Gaza to ease the suffering of Palestinians in the war-ravaged territory.
The W-F-P spokesperson said the agency has so far managed to bring in only about half of the food aid required to meet the needs of people in Gaza. Etefa added that food prices have not fallen as much as expected since the Gaza ceasefire took effect. The truce agreement called for an average of 600 trucks of supplies per day to enter the territory, where famine was confirmed in August. That is while Gaza’s local administration says most of those trucks are still not reaching their destinations, as Israel hinders their entry.
