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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newspaper.
Aid to Gaza remains near all-time low in one month after the US said it would not freeze arms transfers to Israel because it had seen “some progress” in enabling aid. personal to reach the damaged area.
Washington said at the time that it expected Israel to improve the conditions of the Palestinian people in the enclave. But aid officials say the situation has worsened, as theft has nearly cut off supplies from a major aid access point and Israeli forces have killed Palestinians guarding vehicles against theft.
About 1,700 trucks arrived in the month to December 12, according to UN data, more than 100 more than the previous month, as aid reached its lowest level since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas.
Louise Waterridge, UNRWA’s Senior Emergency Officer in Gaza, said: “It got to the point where we were lucky if we got into half a truck. “People don’t have a day where they only know: family. you will eat mine.”
Central and southern Gaza, where most of the population now lives, is facing severe hunger. The bakeries are full of desperate Palestinians, some crushed to death. Three people suffocated in the November 29 incident at a food line in central Gaza.
Flour is so scarce that one bag costs $162, according to a joint report by more than a dozen aid groups including Save the Children and The International Rescue Committee published on December 13.
On October 13, the secretaries of state and defense of the US wrote to the Israeli government, which controls all crossings to Gaza, giving it 30 days to “use all kinds of humanitarian aid” in the barrel and ” to end the isolation of northern Gaza” immediately. , warns that military aid could be at risk if the situation does not improve.
A month later the US said it would not withhold military aid, saying it had seen “some progress being made”, despite warnings from aid groups that the situation had deteriorated.
Most of the small amount of food that goes into the pit is stolen because Israel only allows aid trucks to take roads where theft by organized gangs is common, aid workers said.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to deny or delay aid operations to reach Gaza, with all efforts by the United Nations to provide aid to the besieged north between Nov 13 and Dec 10 denied or blocked, according to the report.
The US pointed to Israel’s opening of the Kissufim road to central Gaza as a sign of improvement, but only 67 trucks entered from there last month. Looting has also hampered transport there.
“It is not enough for the Israelis to drop aid at the border and open one gate. They need to open all land routes at the same time and ensure security for an unlimited aid response inside Gaza,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy leader.
UNRWA suspended aid transfers from Kerem Shalom, the main humanitarian aid entry point in the south and central region, on 1 December after looting disrupted operations. WFP had already stopped accepting people at the crossing.
A senior UN official told the Financial Times that the next US pressure may have caused Israel to allow organizations to take another route into Gaza from Kerem Shalom.
In two days, aid ships en route reached their destinations with almost unprecedented success, said four senior aid officials and an insider. inside Palestinian transport.
They said a convoy of more than 100 trucks reached their destination without a single one being robbed on Wednesday night after members of the public lined the streets to protect the aid from thieves.
But the next day, shortly before the third convoy left, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians who planned to provide security for the trucks, said four aid officials and Palestinian transport insiders.
At least 20 people have been killed, according to two aid workers. Only one of the more than 70 trucks in the convoy arrived, while the rest were looted.
Responding to questions about the incident, the IDF said it had carried out a strike against Hamas operatives who were determined to steal aid trucks.
It said: “The IDF continues to operate effectively against the terrorist organization Hamas and is taking all measures to minimize harm to civilians, and . . . will continue to work in accordance with international law to help and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip. “
The Israeli military group responsible for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, known as Cogat, did not respond to questions about humanitarian aid and theft.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, during which militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and captured 250. About 45,000 Palestinians killed in the Israeli campaign, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Khalidi said of Oxfam workers: “Even our workers depend on humanitarian aid . . . My husband’s husband tells the children not to play or run so that they don’t get frustrated because they only eat once a day.”
Data visualization by Aditi Bhandari
