OCHA: active hostilities obstruct humanitarian operation in southern Gaza

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated Wednesday that insecurity and active hostilities in the southern Gaza Strip are still a major impediment to humanitarian operations. In a report issued today, the UN humanitarian agency pointed out that a number of attacks have hit the periphery of Al Mawasi, where many displaced people have sought shelter, last week. "One of the major and ongoing constraints is picking up supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing. To do that, humanitarian organizations are exposed to criminal activity along the single road they have been forced to use, amid Israeli military operations nearby," OCHA argued. It accused that the Israeli occupation authorities of restricting the use of alternative roads. "Meanwhile, partners working to support health care in Gaza warn that power blackouts due to fuel shortages continue to put the lives of critically ill patients at risk. This includes newborns, patients receiving dialysis and those in intensiv e care units," added the UN organization. It warned that the lack of fuel is also hampering efforts to respond to the water, sanitation and hygiene crisis across Gaza. It noted that partners working on the response say water production from groundwater wells - which is the main source of Gaza's water supply - has shrunk by more than 50 per cent - from 35,000 cubic metres per day to just 15,000. In the occupied West Bank, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, led a field visit to witness how settlement expansion and restrictions on access and movement are fueling humanitarian needs, in the occupied West Bank. The mission, which was organized by OCHA and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, included a visit to Tulkarm city and its two adjacent camps - Tulkarm and Nur Shams. Hadi met with communities there, who spoke of the impact of recurrent operations by Israeli forces in the camps. Across the West Bank, including East Jerus alem, OCHA says that as of Monday, 536 Palestinians - nearly a quarter of them children - have been killed since 7 October. The vast majority were killed by Israeli forces, and at least 10 by settlers. Nearly 5,400 Palestinians were injured in these incidents. In the week between 18 and 24 June, OCHA also documented 18 attacks by Israeli settlers across the West Bank, resulting in injuries and damage to Palestinian-owned property and trees. Source: Kuwait News Agency