New York - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that only 3 out of 21 life-saving aid shipments were able to reach the northern Gaza Valley between January 1 and 10. According to what was stated in the daily United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Friday morning
Citing colleagues in the humanitarian field, Dujarric said that these missions were planned to deliver medical supplies and fuel to water and sanitation facilities in Gaza City and its north, and the Israeli authorities refused to allow them to enter.
Stephane Dujarric pointed out the diminished capacity of the United Nations to respond to the large-scale needs in the northern part of Gaza due to the repeated denials of humanitarian access and the absence of coordinated safe access by the Israeli authorities. He warned that denial of permits and severe restrictions on access paralyze the ability of humanitarian partners to respond meaningfully, coherently and on a large scale.
The UN spokesman said that January witnessed a “significant deterioration” in the arrival rate compared to the rate in December last year, when more than 70 percent of the planned UN missions to the north were coordinated and implemented. While the rate between January 1 and January 10 was about 14 percent.
Dujarric added, "Every day that we are unable to provide assistance results in loss of life and suffering for hundreds of thousands of people who remain in northern Gaza."
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said in a post on social media that “the health sector in Gaza is slowly suffocating as hospitals continue to come under fire.”
He added that when the health system collapses, "pregnant mothers cannot deliver their babies safely. Children cannot get vaccines. The sick and wounded cannot get treatment. People die. This war must stop."
He also mourned four members of the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crews who were killed while carrying out their duty in Gaza. He said the rules of war were clear and that parties must protect civilians - including, of course, humanitarian workers.