Refugee agency warns of signs of collapse of civil order after three weeks of war
Thousands of residents from the central and southern regions of the Gaza Strip entered United Nations food distribution centers. According to the organization, they took wheat flour, hygiene products and other basic food items.
“This is a worrying sign that civil order is beginning to crumble after three weeks of war and a strict siege on the Gaza Strip. People are scared, frustrated and desperate. Tensions and fears are heightened by disruptions to phone lines and internet signals. They feel alone and isolated from their families in Gaza and the rest of the world,” said Thomas White, director of UNRWA (UN Agency for the Assistance to Palestinian Refugees, acronym in English) in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the UN’s Middle East arm said the massive displacement of people from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, as ordered by the Israeli government, was contributing to the deterioration of food and essential supplies.
“Supplies in the market are running low, while humanitarian aid arriving in the Gaza Strip by trucks from Egypt is insufficient. “The needs of communities are immense, even just to survive, while the help we receive is meager and inconsistent,” White added.
According to the United Nations, just over 80 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip this Sunday morning (October 29, 2023). There was no operation on Saturday (October 28, 2023) due to the “blackout” in communications.
“The current humanitarian aid system is doomed to fail. Too few trucks, slow processes, rigorous inspections, deliveries that do not meet the requirements of UNRWA and other aid agencies and, above all, persistent fuel outages are a recipe for a failed system,” said White.
The agency called for the establishment of a regular pipeline of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to meet residents’ needs, especially amid rising tensions.