Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip. The restrictions have resulted in a shipment of food donated by Turkey, intended for 1.1 million Palestinians, being halted from reaching the war-torn enclave. This move has further worsened the crisis between Israel and UNRWA, as major donor nations, including the United States, have suspended funding to the organization following Israeli allegations of UNRWA workers' involvement in an attack that sparked Israel's war in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, the director of UNRWA, revealed on Friday that a convoy of food has been stranded in the Israeli port city of Ashdod for weeks. The Israeli customs authorities allegedly ordered the agency's contractor not to process any UNRWA goods, causing 1,049 shipping containers of vital supplies, including rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar, and cooking oil, to be stuck. This food would have been enough to feed 1.1 million people in Gaza for a month. It is a dire situation, with an estimated 25% of families in Gaza facing catastrophic hunger.
