According to the UN survey, despite the crisis, there was actually a 48% increase in humanitarian operations in Gaza in February compared to January, from 75 to 111 operations.
“However, the effectiveness of these expanded efforts has been undermined by the disruption of operations in the north and an overall deterioration in the safety of civilians, including aid workers,” it said. “This decline was mainly attributed to the reduction in local police presence after a series of attacks by Israeli forces resulted in police casualties,” he explains.
According to the United Nations, the deteriorating situation has led to “significant access restrictions, which significantly impede the movement of relief supplies into and through Gaza.”
The most affected area was the northern Gaza Strip. In February, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners planned only 24 missions for the region, six (25%) of which were supported by Israel.
“This is in stark contrast to January, when 61 operations were planned for the north, of which nine (15%) were supported,” he points out. “The decline in planned and facilitated missions was primarily the result of an operational pause imposed after a United Nationscoordinated food convoy was directly hit by Israeli naval fire on February 5 while waiting at a holding point, as reported by Israel Military required,” he explains.
“The following day, UN staff reported harassment and intimidation by Israeli soldiers against them and convoy members at an Israeli checkpoint. These incidents, coupled with previous impacts on UNcoordinated movements, led the UN and its partners to temporarily suspend coordinated assistance operations to the northern Gaza Strip from the evening of February 6,” he stressed.