A view of the remains of a mosque and houses destroyed by Israeli attacks in the central Gaza Strip, October 29, 2023. Portal/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa Acquires License Rights
JERUSALEM, Oct 29 (Portal) – Thousands of Gaza residents broke into warehouses and distribution centers run by the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA), stealing flour and “basic necessities for survival”, the organization said on Sunday.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is beginning to collapse after three weeks of war and a strict siege in the Gaza Strip,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement.
In one of the warehouses in Deir al-Balah, UNRWA stores supplies for the humanitarian convoys coming to Gaza from Egypt.
Aid deliveries to Gaza have been choked off since Israel began bombing the densely populated Palestinian enclave in response to a deadly attack by its ruling militant group Hamas on October 7.
“Supplies in the market are running low, while humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip by trucks from Egypt is insufficient,” UNRWA said, adding that the current system for moving humanitarian convoys into Gaza is “doomed to fail.” be.
“The needs of communities are immense, if only for survival, while the help we receive is meager and inconsistent.”
UNRWA has said its ability to help the people of Gaza has been completely hampered by airstrikes that have killed more than 50 of its staff and restricted the movement of aid.
Even before the conflict, the organization had stated that its mandate was at risk due to a lack of funding.
Founded in 1949 after the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services such as schools, primary health care and humanitarian assistance in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Reporting by John Davison in Jerusalem and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva; Edited by Alison Williams and Alexander Smith
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab