The UN says virtually no aid has reached northern Gaza in 40 days

The United Nations warns Palestinians are “facing deteriorating living conditions” in northern Gaza areas besieged by Israeli forces as virtually no aid has arrived in 40 days. via.

The United Nations said all efforts to assist an estimated 65,000 to 75,000 people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia this month had been refused or hindered, forcing bakeries and kitchens to close.

Earlier this month, a United Nations-backed assessment said famine was highly likely in northern Gaza areas.

The Israeli military said the goals of its six-week offensive were to regroup Hamas fighters and that it was facilitating the evacuation of civilians and delivering supplies to hospitals.

Hundreds of people have died and between 100,000 and 130,000 others have been displaced to Gaza City, where the United Nations says essential resources such as shelter, drinking water and health care are severely limited.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN agencies planned to carry out 31 missions to besieged areas in North Gaza province from 1 to 18 November.

Twenty-seven people were turned away by Israeli authorities and the remaining four were seriously hindered, meaning they were prevented from completing all the work they set out to do.

“This comes as the IPC Famine Assessment Committee said just 11 days ago that areas north of Gaza face the risk of another famine – and immediate action is needed within days, not weeks.”

“As a result, bakeries and kitchens in North Gaza province have closed, providing nutritional support [for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women] has been suspended and refueling of water and sanitation facilities has been completely blocked.”

Mr. Dujarric said access to three virtually defunct hospitals there also remained severely limited, amid what he called “severe shortages” of medical supplies and fuel.

On Sunday, a World Health Organization-led delegation to Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia was able to deliver 10,000 liters of fuel and transfer 17 patients, 3 unaccompanied children and 22 people. care to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

However, Mr. Dujarric said aid workers were forced to unload all the food supplies and some medical supplies they transported at an Israeli military checkpoint before reaching the hospital.

Kamal Adwan director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya warned on Wednesday that the situation there was becoming “even more dire”.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry quoted him as saying that the hospital had 85 patients receiving a “minimum level of health care” and that the hospital needed baby food and infant formula to treat the increasing number of malnutrition cases.

Since Tuesday, he added, 17 children have come to the emergency room with signs of malnutrition and one elderly man died from severe dehydration.

There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

But data from the Israeli military agency responsible for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, Cogat, showed that 472 aid trucks had entered northern Gaza through the Erez West border crossing as of November 17, without specify whether such aid will be allowed into besieged areas.

Cogat also said it is continuing to work with international partners to “facilitate a broad humanitarian response for civilians in Gaza.”

On Monday, a boy from Beit Lahia told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program that he and his family fled to Gaza City after the Israeli army dropped leaflets from a quadcopter, ordered immediate evacuation.

“The road from Beit Lahia to Gaza [City] it was rough and bumpy and there was no transportation for us. When we arrived, we couldn’t find anything… neither food nor drinks. We went to the schools, but there was no space left because the number of displaced people… was huge,” he said.

“As a result, we were thrown out onto the street and didn’t know where to go. We are six families living on the streets, sitting on sand, dirt and debris.”

The IDF said in a statement Monday that its forces killed “dozens of terrorists in close-range encounters and through targeted attacks” in the Beit Lahia region over the past week. .

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Civil Defense agency told AFP news agency that a drone killed two people, including a 15-year-old girl, at a school. for displaced families in Beit Lahia.

The agency’s first responders also found the bodies of seven people killed in an overnight Israeli attack on a house in Jabalia, he added.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left about 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage.

According to the territory’s Ministry of Health, more than 43,980 people have died in Gaza since then.