Israel’s measures do nothing to stop Gaza starvation crisis, say aid workers

 

The UN has called for a full ceasefire and for Israel to allow humanitarian aid in.

Children sit near a food distribution point in Gaza City amid widespread food shortages. Photograph: APA Images/Shutterstock

Aid workers have said Israel’s new measures – meant to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza – fall far short of what is needed and aid access continues to be blocked amid the population’s spiraling famine. The new measures, which came into effect on Sunday and include daily humanitarian pauses, as well as airdropped aid and humanitarian corridors for UN aid trucks, were announced by Israel as international pressure mounted to alleviate the hunger crisis. Aid groups have said Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is the principal cause of the starvation crisis, which has seen 151 Palestinians die of hunger, more than half of whom died in the past month alone. While the crisis has deepened, Israel’s military has continued its attacks, killing at least 48 people seeking aid in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the territory’s ministry of health. Meanwhile, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said the country will also formally recognize Palestine during the UN general assembly in September, after France and 14 other countries co-signed a declaration. How much aid is now needed? The number of aid trucks that have been entering Gaza since the new measures were announced has increased, with more than 200 trucks entering on Tuesday, according to Israeli customs authority (COGAT). But it falls far below the 500-600 trucks the UN has said is necessary to sustain the 2 million residents of Gaza.

Jem Bartholomew, The Guardian