Gaza - Washington: Europe and the Arabs - agencies
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant his anger at the Israeli raid on a humanitarian aid convoy belonging to the World Central Kitchen.
The World Central Kitchen organization called for an independent investigation conducted by a third party into the Israeli raids, which resulted in the killing of seven of its employees in the Gaza Strip.
  This comes after the United Nations decided yesterday evening to suspend its night movements inside Gaza for at least 48 hours, following the killing of World Central Kitchen employees in several Israeli raids earlier this week.
According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, OCHA took this decision to allow for further assessment of the security issues that affected staff on the ground, and of course the civilian population it is trying to help.
However, Mr. Dujarric confirmed that operations will continue during the day, including the World Food Programme's daily efforts to send convoys to the north of the Strip. In this regard, he said: “People are dying, and it is necessary that we provide them with assistance. With famine approaching, we need personnel and humanitarian supplies so that we can move freely and safely throughout the Gaza Strip.”
For its part, the World Health Organization stated that it again requested the Israeli authorities to facilitate access to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Multiple requests by the organization to access the hospital over the past two weeks have been refused, delayed or hindered.
Mr. Dujarric told reporters in New York yesterday, Wednesday, that a team from the World Health Organization was also planning to visit two other hospitals in northern Gaza today - Al-Sahaba and Al-Ahly - “however, permission was not obtained to go to these two sites.”
He said: “We can only reiterate that delays and rejections of humanitarian missions not only prevent us from reaching those in need - but also affect other activities and deliveries by dispersing scarce resources. We and our humanitarian partners will continue to do everything we can to deliver aid.” "Life-saving services for civilians throughout the Gaza Strip."
Of mass destruction
In related news, the United Nations and World Bank estimate that the cost of damage to Gaza's vital infrastructure has reached approximately $18.5 billion.
These results came in an interim report jointly issued by the two organizations, which indicated that the war has resulted in an estimated 26 million tons of debris and rubble so far, and it will take several years to remove them.
The Interim Damage Assessment report used remote data collection sources to measure damage to physical infrastructure in vital sectors in the period between October 2023 and the end of January of this year.
Mr. Dujarric said the report also notes the impact on the population of Gaza, “where 75 percent of the population has been displaced, and 100 percent — one hundred percent — of children are out of school.”
The report also identifies key actions for early recovery efforts, and the UN spokesperson said that a more comprehensive assessment will be completed as soon as the situation allows, "and it is expected that losses and needs will be much higher than the interim assessment."