Aid blockade and attacks on relief workers hinder UN deliveries in Gaza
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United Nations: UN humanitarians are seeking safety guarantees from Israel as escalating violence and aid blockages severely hinder relief efforts in Gaza.
On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the United Nations is seeking concrete assurances for the safety of staff and operations in Gaza following the killing of six UN personnel and injury of several others this week, including in the attack on a clearly designated UN compound, Xinhua news agency reported.
"We demand answers on their behalf and for those who continue the work," Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Wednesday.
OCHA said that the 20-day blockade of Gaza's crossings, which has halted aid deliveries, is exacerbating the catastrophic living conditions faced by the population, with devastating consequences.
"Each passing day further erodes the progress made by the UN and our humanitarian partners during the first six weeks of the ceasefire," the office said. "OCHA warns that humanitarian operations are now being severely hampered by hostilities. Civilians, including aid workers, and civilian assets have come under attack."
OCHA warned that as attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, the steady flow of trauma injuries is putting even more pressure on an already shattered healthcare system.
More than 120,000 Palestinians have been displaced this week alone, driven by intensified attacks and new Israeli evacuation orders across Gaza, OCHA said. This latest wave of displacement accounts for about 6% of the surviving population, according to the UN's humanitarian partners.
Israel issued a new evacuation order for areas in northern Gaza on Friday, citing reports of rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups.
According to OCHA, a recent survey in the West Bank revealed a record-high 850 checkpoints, gates, and physical barriers restricting movement across the occupied territory, the highest number documented in the past 20 years.
"In just the past three months, three dozen new movement obstacles have been established, most of them following the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire in mid-January," OCHA said. "Road gates account for a third of all obstacles, and most of them are frequently kept closed."
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said that Friday marks 60 days since Israel began military operations in Jenin Camp in the West Bank.
He said such large-scale, militarised operations cannot become the new norm in the West Bank. The trend of escalating violence that started before October 7, 2023, must be reversed.
(inputs from IANS)