UN calls for operational overhaul in Gaza and West Bank
The United Nations stressed on April 17 that changes to operating conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories were vital, The Independent reported.
As well as Israel’s brutal bombing campaign since October, attacks on Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank have occurred in unprecedented numbers as the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric emphasised the need for Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territories as well as improving the ease of access for humanitarian workers.
Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson said: “Humanitarian organisations must have safe and sustained access to all people in need across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,”
Regarding a rise in attacks on those living outside of Gaza, Dujarric explained that “increasing violence in the West Bank is something we’ve been seeing not just since 7 October but before.”
The dire situation in Gaza for its civilian population and humanitarian workers based there was perfectly emphasised on April 1 when 7 World Central Kitchen (WCK) staffers were killed in three seperate Israeli airstrikes in the enclave’s south. Israel insisted that the killing was accidental despite them travelling on an Israeli approved route when the strikes hit their convoys, bearing huge World Central Kitchen logos on each car roof.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a statement announcing a $2.8 billion appeal, covering a 9-month period from April through December, on April 17 for donations to meet the needs of over 3 million people across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
READ: UN claims Israel is targeting food convoys
The statement read, “The Flash Appeal outlines the estimated resource requirements to reduce human suffering and prevent further loss of life in Gaza and the West Bank based on the best available information at this time. The $2.822 billion requested represents only part of the $4.089 billion that the UN and partners estimates is required to meet the needs of the 3.3 million people in need.”
Amidst impending famine and the US pressuring the Netanyahu regime to allow more humanitarian trucks to enter the besieged Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported on April 8 that in excess of 300 trucks were allowed into the enclave on that day, the highest amount since the launch of Israel’s war on Gaza.
UNRWA, the main agency assisting Palestinians, spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said in February that 500 trucks of humanitarian aid alone are needed each day to meet the basic needs of the Gazan people as reports have found that 1 in 4 people are experiencing famine-like conditions.
Recent statistics show that over 34,000 Gazans, 70% of whom were women and children, and 468 people living in the West Bank have been killed by the IDF since Hamas’ rampage in southern Israel.
The Independent/ Middle East Monitor
