Israel’s blocking of aid threatens lives of Gazans, UN official says

Amman: The United Nations humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said on Sunday that the clampdown on aid reaching Gaza is having "horrific" consequences, warning of a famine in the besieged Strip. Griffiths said in an interview with AFP: "If fuel runs out, if aid doesn't get to the people who need it, that famine that we've talked about for so long and that's looming on the horizon, it's not looming anymore. It will be there." Griffiths said about 50 aid trucks a day could reach the most affected areas in northern Gaza through the Erez crossing (Beit Hanoun Crossing), but fighting near the Rafah and Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossings in southern Gaza means that vital routes are "effectively closed." He noted that aid arriving via land routes to the south and to Rafah and those displaced from it is almost non-existent. Aid organizations contend that the Israeli invasion of Rafah, which began despite widespread international opposition and as mediators hoped for a breakthrough in stalled truce talks, h as exacerbated an acute humanitarian crisis. Source: Jordan News Agency