The World Food Program (WFP) announced yesterday that it has stopped all food deliveries to the already severely affected in northern Gaza. The UN refers to Israeli gunfire as well as “complete chaos and violence due to the breakdown of civil order” in the area. The vital supplies of food and emergency aid were stopped for the first time three weeks ago, after an aid truck was shot at. Footage from the scene, confirmed by Al Jazeera, shows Palestinians fleeing for cover after Israeli forces opened fire on hungry Palestinians queuing for food. Witnesses said one man died and many others were injured in the attacks. WFP has previously warned of famine affecting 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip. Starving to death After first halting food deliveries three weeks ago, the WFP tried to resume deliveries this week, but said convoys were met by gunfire and crowds of hungry Palestinians stopping their cars to get food. The WFP says it has seen a desperation it has never seen before in the north of the Gaza Strip in the past two days. Displaced Palestinians gather to receive food in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 19. Photo: AFP – Food and safe drinking water have become extremely difficult to obtain, diseases are spreading and resulting in a flourishing of acute malnutrition, says WFP. Before the war, less than one percent suffered from malnutrition, according to UNICEF. – People are already dying from hunger-related causes, says WFP. Palestinians carry bags of flour they received from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint on February 19. Photo: Reuters According to figures from the UN, reproduced by the BBC, the number of trucks with emergency aid has been halved in the last two weeks. The reason is that Israel has not been able to ensure that the cars are not shot at. – The situation is completely unreal Northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been more or less isolated since Israeli soldiers entered the area last October. There are still several hundred thousand people there, according to the UN. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the food situation in the north of the Gaza Strip as “absolutely terrible”. They tell of hungry and desperate people who need nourishment. – The situation is completely unreal, says Soad Abu Hussein, mother of five and widow, according to the Canadian CBC. Ayman Abu Awad says he eats one meal a day and saves all he can for his four children. – People eat whatever they can find, including animal food and rotten bread, he says. A video published by Al Jazeera shows children desperately trying to pick up spilled flour from the ground. Displaced Palestinians gather to receive food in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 19. Photo: AFP Fears for aid workers Israel controls all entry points to Gaza – and has only opened one way in – despite growing international pressure to provide humanitarian aid. The United Nations says cumbersome Israeli procedures have slowed the crossing of trucks, while right-wing Israeli protesters have blocked trucks at the Kerem Shalom entry point in southern Gaza. When supplies do come through to Gaza, UN staff and aid groups are unable to pick them up at crossing points because of “the lack of security and the breakdown of law and order,” according to Eri Kaneko, a spokesperson for OCHA. This includes Israel’s targeted killings of Gaza police chiefs guarding truck convoys, according to the United Nations. Israel has not commented on the claims. If the war continues and sufficient emergency aid is not put in place, the Gaza Strip will experience famine in the coming months. This is shown by a UN report.
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The UN halts emergency aid to northern Gaza – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
