“It has become almost impossible to deliver aid”

Fletcher denounces that “schools, hospitals and civil infrastructure have been reduced to rubble”

Dec. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The head of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN, Tom Fletcher, stated this Monday that “it has become almost impossible” to deliver aid in the Gaza Strip, despite the “enormous humanitarian needs”, because the Israeli authorities have denied most access requests and “the collapse of law and order” by local gangs is occurring.

“We face difficult places to provide humanitarian aid, but Gaza is currently the most dangerous, in a year in which more humanitarian workers have died than any other on record,” he declared after his first trip to the region as head of Humanitarian Affairs.

Fletcher recalled that in January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israeli authorities to take “all possible measures” to protect the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip from alleged abuses contemplated in the Genocide Convention.

“(But) less than a year later, the sustained intensity of violence means there is nowhere for Gazan civilians to be safe. Schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure have been reduced to rubble,” he denounced. .

He also stressed that “northern Gaza has been under a near-total siege for more than two months, raising the specter of famine,” while southern Gaza “is extremely overcrowded, creating “Horrible living conditions and even greater humanitarian needs as winter approaches.”

“Across Gaza, Israeli airstrikes continue in densely populated areas, even in areas where Israeli forces have ordered people to move, causing destruction, displacement and death,” he said. However, in addition to this, “in the West Bank the situation continues to deteriorate and the death toll is the highest on record.”

Over the past year, Israeli military operations “led to the destruction of essential infrastructure, such as roads and water networks, especially in refugee camps from which families have been displaced.” “Increased settler violence and home demolitions have caused displacement and growing needs,” he added. Furthermore, movement restrictions “impede” access to essential services.

“In the face of these challenges, the United Nations and the humanitarian community continue to try to stay and provide services, against all odds. We help survivors and continue to seek practical humanitarian solutions,” he said.

Finally, he has called on the international community to defend International Humanitarian Law, demand the protection of civilians, insist that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) release the hostages, defend the work of the United Nations United Nations for Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) and “break the cycle of violence.”