United Nations, July 7 (IANS) Israeli authorities’ restrictions and closures reduced the overall volume of critical aid the United Nations and its partners brought into Gaza in June, UN humanitarians have said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday (local time) said the amount of aid that relief organisations and the private sector can bring into Gaza to meet people’s immense needs is limited because all crossings except Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem remain closed to cargo currently.
Meanwhile, restrictions on specific types of supplies remain, the office added.
OCHA said that over the weekend the world body continued to collect food and fuel from the only open crossing.
But data showed the overall volume of supplies brought into Gaza in June was more than 4,600 pallets fewer than the 46,600 pallets allowed in May, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Last week, only 42 per cent of the supplies from Egypt and 65 per cent of the supplies from Ashdod port, already approved in principle, could be offloaded at Kerem Shalom,” OCHA said.
In other related developments, concerns continue over the safety and well-being of people, especially children in the West Bank, said OCHA.
On Sunday, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old in Qalandiya Camp near Jerusalem, and shot two other children in the lower limbs, the office said.
In Ramallah governorate, a 4-month-old baby died after Israeli forces refused to open a gate blocking the main entrance to his village while an ambulance waited for him on the other side, the UN Human Rights Office said.
–IANS
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