(MENAFN) Stephane Dujarric, the official spokesman for the United Nations, reported that UN relief workers and their partners in Gaza are urgently striving to provide food assistance to thousands of newly displaced Palestinians. Last week, tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee from areas in Gaza City to the north and the southern Al-Mawasi area in Rafah. Despite these efforts, Dujarric emphasized the severe shortage of shelter materials and essential supplies needed to support these newly displaced individuals. The situation is further complicated by the lack of public order and safety across the Gaza Strip, ongoing hostilities, damaged roads, fuel shortages, and access restrictions, making it nearly impossible to collect and distribute humanitarian aid at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Additionally, Dujarric highlighted that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported significant obstacles in humanitarian operations throughout June. Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of the 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, with over a third obstructed. Nearly 10 percent of these missions were blocked, and around 9 percent were canceled due to logistical, operational, or security issues. The spokesman also warned that unexploded ordnance remains a substantial threat to the lives of people across Gaza, including internally displaced persons and those attempting to return to their homes. This danger is particularly acute for children, who are at high risk of injury or death from these ordnances. 

MENAFN02072024000045015682ID1108398734