By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN aid coordination office on Wednesday said in an update from Gaza that it has been three and a half weeks since Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid into Gaza, despite daily efforts by UN humanitarians to secure fresh access.
OCHA noted that as supplies of food, medicine and other supplies run low, aid teams are increasingly concerned about growing anxiety in bread lines outside the enclave’s remaining bakeries.
OCHA, said in an online post “Most attempts by humanitarian organizations to coordinate access with Israeli authorities within #Gaza result in #AccessDenied”.
It stressed that 5 out of 7 such attempts were denied on Monday and 6 out of 9 were rejected on Tuesday.
OCHA said that medical teams in Gaza are exhausted “and urgently need protection and reinforcement” from ongoing strikes across Gaza.
It cited new reports of attacks against health workers, ambulances and hospitals and warned of “hundreds of casualties, a severe drop in medical stocks and a lack of equipment, blood units and personnel” since the ceasefire ended.
“No one is safe. The world must have zero tolerance for atrocities,” the UN agency insisted.
Some 800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in recent days after the resumption of Israeli bombardment on 18 March, according to the health authorities.
It includes a reported 38 individuals killed in the last 24 hours.
OCHA said 8 aid workers have been killed in Gaza and the total killed is 399.
The number includes at least 289 UN personnel, OCHA said, with staffers from the UN Office for Project Services and the UN agency for Palestine refugees killed last Wednesday in an apparent Israeli tank strike on a United Nations compound in Deir al-Balah that wounded 6 others.
Israel denied responsibility for the attack.
The agency noted that 3 injured worked in support of the UN Mine Action Service which is involved in clearing unexploded ordnance in Gaza.
OCHA noted that on 20 March, the Israeli military re-deployed along the eastern and central part of the “Netzarim corridor” in Gaza. Movement between the north and south of Gaza was only allowed via the Al Rashid coast road.
OCHA said these military activities and new displacement orders issued by the Israeli military have triggered “new waves” of displacement across Gaza, with more than 142,000 people likely uprooted between 18 and 23 March.
“Israeli evacuation orders have covered 55 square kilometres across six areas of the #Gaza Strip – nearly the size of Manhattan,” OCHA said in an online post.
Over 15 per cent of Gaza has been impacted by evacuation orders in addition to “no-go zones” that run along borders and in central Gaza.
OCHA added that the Israeli Government’s decision to ban the entry of humanitarian aid and any other supplies via all land crossings into Gaza is the longest such closure since October 2023.
It warned that gains made during the ceasefire to support survivors “have been reversed”.
Some 50,000 Palestinians have been confirmed dead by local authorities with 113,828 wounded since the war began on 7 October 2023, in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel that left over 1,100 dead and more than 250 taken hostage
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