A boy sits among the rubble and scattered belongings of a home was destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip © – / AFP. The main UN aid agency in war-ravaged Gaza said an Israeli strike Wednesday hit one of its warehouses, killing an employee, as calls intensified for land routes to bring food into the besieged territory.
Starvation is being used as a weapon of war in Gaza, the EU’s foreign policy chief has claimed.
Josep Borrell described the lack of aid entering the territory as a “manmade” disaster.
A Spanish ship carrying desperately needed food supplies has left Cyprus for Gaza, but the UN says this cannot replace the delivery of aid by land.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has meanwhile vowed to press on with an offensive in southern Gaza.
The quickest, most effective way to get aid into the territory is by road, but aid agencies say Israeli restrictions mean a fraction of what is needed is getting in.
Attention has instead shifted towards alternative routes including sea and air drops.
On Tuesday, a UN World Food Programme convoy used a land route to deliver aid to northern Gaza for the first time in three weeks.
The trucks used an Israeli military road running along Gaza’s border fence, Jamie McGoldrick, UN aid coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told Reuters.
Enough food for 25,000 people was delivered to Gaza City, with WFP spokesperson Shaza Moghraby saying they were hoping to “scale up” deliveries, but “need access to be regular and consistent”.
Israel says it is not to blame for Gaza’s food shortages as it is allowing aid through two crossings in the south.
BBC
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