From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 4 hours ago, updated 3 hours ago
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Around ten trucks carrying 200 tons of food have been blocked by the IDF in the center of the Gaza Strip as the population faces famine.
With famine looming in the Gaza Strip, a World Food Program (WFP) food convoy was blocked by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 5. It was then looted by “a desperate crowd,” the UN agency said. According to the WFP, 14 trucks carrying around 200 tonnes of food were heading to the north of the territory, for the first time since the organization stopped deliveries there on February 20, when the convoy was stopped at a checkpoint in the territory. Israeli army.
After waiting three hours at this checkpoint in Wadi Gaza, in the center of the territory, the convoy was forced to turn back, the Rome-based agency said in a statement. The trucks were then looted by “a desperate crowd who confiscated the cargo,” she added, without mentioning the exact location of this incident.
According to the United Nations, famine is “almost inevitable” for 2.2 of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents. The situation is particularly critical in the largely devastated north of the territory, where the delivery of aid by land from its main entry point, the southern city of Rafah, is hampered by destruction and fighting. The WFP says it is exploring all options to provide assistance in the area, but stresses that road is the only way to transport enough food to avoid the famine that threatens the population.
Ceasefire needed
An airdrop carried out on Tuesday in collaboration with the Jordanian Air Force allowed the drop of six tons of food, enough for 20,000 people, the agency said. “Aerial drops are a last resort and cannot prevent famine,” said Carl Skau, WFP deputy executive director. “We need access points into the northern Gaza Strip to deliver enough food for half a million people who urgently need it,” he said.
U.S. Air Force halts humanitarian assistance to Gaza residents, March 5, 2024. U.S. Central Command via X/Portal
Also read: USA: Kamala Harris calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Last week, Carl Skau told the United Nations Security Council that northern Gaza was at risk of famine if nothing changed. Hunger there has reached “catastrophic proportions,” the WFP warned on Tuesday. “Children are dying from hunger-related diseases and suffering from severe malnutrition,” he stressed, saying a ceasefire was urgently needed.