CONFLICT
Wetteloosheid blokkeert hulproute naar Gaza
June 24, 2024 - United Nations and aid organizations say daily pauses in combat by Israel Defense Forces along a safe corridor to deliver aid into southern Gaza have failed following a breakdown in law and order.
A week after Israel announced a daily pause in fighting on a critical route to allow more aid into Gaza, chaos in the besieged Palestinian territory has left vital supplies piled up and undistributed in the searing summer heat, AFP reported.
“The breakdown of public order and safety is increasingly endangering humanitarian workers and operations in Gaza,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in a briefing late Friday (June 21).
“Alongside the fighting, criminal activities and the risk of theft and robbery has effectively prevented humanitarian access to critical locations.”
With law and order breaking down in Gaza, the UN says it has been unable to pick up any supplies from Kerem Shalom since Tuesday, leaving crucial aid in limbo.
Since early March, the IDF has opened four humanitarian aid crossings into the Gaza Strip: Gate 96, the Erez, Western Erez, and Kerem Shalom crossings.
In a surprise move on Monday, June 24, the IDF Southern Command confirmed that Palestinians would be able to leave the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing -- for the first time since the beginning of the war -- for medical treatment in Egypt.
- Food piles up at Gaza crossing as aid agencies say they are unable to work (Asharq Al-Awsat)
- Israel’s pledge to guard an aid route into Gaza falls flat as lawlessness blocks distribution (Associated Press)
- Israeli military says opening new aid routes into Gaza (Reuters)
- IDF to allow Gazans through Kerem Shalom crossing for first time since start of war (Jerusalem Post)