United Nations agencies are facing a critical situation in southern Gaza, with food aid likely to run out soon. The head of the UN Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) in Gaza, Georgios Petropoulos, has warned that the World Food Programme and UNRWA will exhaust their food supplies for distribution in the south by tomorrow.
According to Petropoulos, the closure of the Rafah Crossing and Kerem Shalom border crossing has severely impacted access to fuel, supplies, and the movement of humanitarian staff. This has led to a shortage of staff at bakeries supported by humanitarian partners in South Gaza, with eight out of twelve bakeries ceasing operations due to the lack of resources.
As a result, only four bakeries are currently operating at reduced capacity and are expected to run out of stock by Monday. This situation further exacerbates the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been under military assault.
In response to the escalating crisis, the Israel Defense Forces have facilitated the entry of 200,000 liters of fuel through the Kerem Shalom crossing in recent days. However, the IDF also reported that Hamas had fired rockets from Rafah towards the humanitarian aid crossing, although the timing of these attacks was not specified.
The looming food aid shortage in southern Gaza highlights the urgent need for international support and intervention to address the humanitarian crisis and ensure the well-being of the vulnerable population in the region.
