UN Demands Access to Deliver Aid in Gaza

The accumulation of waste in Gaza is posing significant health threats.

UN agencies on Friday continued to stress that they must be allowed to deliver aid in the Gaza Strip as famine looms and a telecommunications blackout threatens lifesaving operations.

The humanitarian network is currently at a standstill due to an internet shutdown earlier this week, after the last fiber cable route serving central and southern areas was cut during heavy fighting.

“As the outage continues, partners are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities, and people in need remain isolated and without the information necessary to access life-saving support and emergency services,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update.

Restoring connectivity is urgent. OCHA noted that the Israeli military recently posted a warning on social media, marking areas in red on a map considered dangerous combat zones and urging people to avoid them.

Although these areas apparently cover most of Gaza, most residents have no way to access the announcement.

Meanwhile, partners working in telecommunications continue efforts to coordinate urgent repairs to the fiber optic cable routes in Gaza, including previously damaged lines. However, since April, Israeli authorities have denied more than 20 requests to carry out this work.

“It is critical that repair of the lines is enabled immediately,” OCHA stated.

The agency also reported that Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements aimed at supporting Gaza’s population of over two million.

On Thursday alone, eight out of 18 UN attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements were rejected, including missions to retrieve wheat flour and fuel. Four other missions failed due to impediments or security concerns. The remaining six missions, involving staff movements, were completed successfully.

Conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate after 20 months of war and a total blockade of aid and commercial goods since March 2.

Many people are crammed into shelters or living in tents without basic necessities. The accumulation of solid waste is severely affecting health and environmental conditions, the UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA reported on Friday.

Although Israel temporarily lifted the ban in mid-May, allowing small amounts of flour and medicine to enter, the quantities were insufficient to prevent starvation.

Since late May, the UN and its partners have been sidelined as a new aid distribution model backed by Israel and the United States began operating. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which uses private military contractors, has seen over 200 people killed and thousands injured by gunfire near its hubs.

The mechanism is “a recipe for chaos,” UNRWA tweeted, echoing the words of its chief Philippe Lazzarini.

“It is weaponizing aid and resulting in fear, discrimination, and growing desperation,” the agency said. “It is time to lift the siege and let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work. Aid must be delivered safely and at scale.”

UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Tom Fletcher stressed the urgent need for action in a statement issued late Thursday.

“Hunger must never be met with bullets,” he said. “Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Lifesaving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.”

Mr. Fletcher condemned attacks against civilians in Gaza, including those seeking food and those delivering aid. He also said UN convoys have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, placing staff and drivers at risk.

“Civilians in desperate need of the food we’re able to bring in have not been spared; some have been shot by Israeli forces, and others crushed by trucks or stabbed while trying to retrieve food,” he added.

He also described incidents around militarized distribution centers, where starving people reported being fired upon by Israeli forces.

“Hospitals report receiving 245 fatalities and over 2,150 injuries from these areas in the past two weeks,” he said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation stated Thursday that some Palestinians involved in their distribution efforts were killed, injured, or captured by Hamas.

“Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives,” the UN relief chief warned.

“We stand ready, as we have repeatedly emphasized, to deliver life-saving aid at scale,” he said. “Let us do our work.”