The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) told Reuters on Thursday that food aid to Gaza had increased but was still not enough to stop large-scale famine.
“We are getting a little bit more food in. We are on track… but it is not enough to prevent malnutrition and food insecurity among the population,” WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a video briefing from Jerusalem.
McCain said the WFP is currently able to send about 100 trucks of humanitarian supplies into the enclave each day, but that is significantly less than the 600 trucks that were arriving daily during the ceasefire.
COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for directing humanitarian aid to the region, did not immediately respond to McCain’s comments. A report Friday from the food crisis monitoring organization IPC found that some 514,000 residents — nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population — face acute food insecurity in Gaza City and the surrounding areas.
The Israeli side regularly refutes such assessments, calling them unreliable and politically biased in favor of Hamas, with which it has been in conflict for almost two years.
McCain, who visited Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis this week, including a clinic for children and pregnant women, highlighted the continuing barriers to delivering aid to the most vulnerable populations in the Gaza Strip hinterland.
“We saw complete devastation. Almost everything was reduced to rubble, and people showed signs of severe exhaustion and malnutrition,” she shared her impressions.
“This has confirmed the need to penetrate deeper into Gaza to ensure that the population continues to receive essential supplies on a regular basis,” McCain added.
She noted that a small increase in commercial deliveries to the enclave had helped lower prices, but most residents were still unable to afford basic products.
McCain expressed hope that talks with Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, where issues of unrestricted access, safe routes and reduced inspection times for cargo were discussed, would improve the logistics of humanitarian missions.
In a response statement, the military reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting hunger and ensuring uninterrupted supplies.
The IPC report also forecasts that famine zones will expand into central and southern Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
McCain described the IPC's findings as a “benchmark” for assessing food security, calling on the global community to step up aid to the region.
Israel rejected the report, calling it “seriously flawed,” and demanded its retraction. The IPC has not yet responded to the request.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
