UNRWA food supplies in Gaza running out

Spokesman tells Ynet food supplies distributed by agency to civilians will last only a few more weeks, adding that the recent IDF operation left Strip's public health system 'on brink of collapse'

Aviram Zino
Published: 03.04.08, 18:45 / Israel News

The food supplies distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to the residents of Gaza are due to run out in a few weeks' time, a spokesman for the agency told Ynet on Tuesday.

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According to Chris Gunness, the IDF's recent operation has left the Strip's public health system on the brink of collapse. He said that the agency would not be able to complete its construction projects unless Israel allows the transfer of cement into the coastal enclave, adding that UNRWA had already invested more than $93 million in these projects.

The spokesman said the food provided by the agency to Gazans constitutes only two-thirds of the recommended average daily consumption per person.

Earlier Tuesday, two border crossings were opened for the transfer of goods and equipment for the first time since the situation in the south began escalating last week. Some 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Palestinians passed through the Kerem Shalom terminal, while 60 additional trucks containing equipment and medications crossed the border at the Sufa crossing.

In addition, 80 trucks carrying grains entered the Strip through the Karni crossing.

Meanwhile, Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement – has warned Defense Minister Ehud Barak that "fire directed at areas inhabited by civilians, even if hostilities emanate from those areas, is prohibited according to international law and can be considered a war crime."

The human rights group further stated that "the obligation to refrain from deliberate targeting of civilians or disproportional injury to civilians when attacking military targets is not conditional on the behavior of the other side."

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