By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Friday that the UN emergency food relief agency has not been able to transport any aid into the Gaza Strip, due to the ongoing closure of all border crossing points for past 12 days.
Mr. Dujarric said that there is also a shortage of fuel, which is affecting the movement of vehicles across Gaza and slowing down first responders.
He said “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted that oxygen supplies and electricity generators are also critically needed to maintain life-saving operations at hospitals in Gaza,”.
“At least two dozen additional generators are needed for health centres, as the ones currently in use need maintenance and spare parts,” he added.
World Food Programme has food stocks sufficient to support active kitchens and bakeries for up to one month, as well as ready-to-eat food parcels to support 550,000 people for two weeks, Mr. Dujarric said.
He added that to stretch supplies, the agency is reducing the quantity of food parcels provided to families – a measure it had already implemented before the ceasefire.
Dujarric stressed that a total of 25 bakeries are supported by the agency, but on 8 March, six of these bakeries were forced to close due to a shortage of cooking gas.
The closure of border crossings has also triggered a sharp rise in food prices, with costs for staples such as flour and sugar rising, further limiting access, he noted.
The situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate, he added.
OCHA has recorded a surge in settler violence in parts of the West Bank, “causing casualties, property damage and placing communities at high risk of displacement,” reported Mr. Dujarric.
The Office noted a sharp increase in the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank over the past week and a half, with the number of structures demolished during the first 10 days of Ramadan this year having already exceeded the total for all of Ramadan in 2024.
Mr. Dujarric added that the operations in Jenin city also intensified, with more than 500 people displaced from three neighbourhoods in the eastern part of the city.
WFP is supporting over 190,000 people with monthly cash vouchers and has provided one-off assistance to thousands of those most in need.
The agency requires $265 million in funding over the next six months to sustain operations that assist 1.4 million people in Gaza and the West Bank.
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