The World Food Program announced on Tuesday that it had halted food deliveries to northern Gaza due to escalating chaos within the region, sparking fears of a looming famine.
A UNICEF study revealed that one in six children in the north are suffering from severe malnutrition, highlighting the dire circumstances.
UN statistics indicate that the entry of aid trucks into the besieged territory has plummeted by more than fifty percent in the past fortnight.
UN and relief workers, overwhelmed by the situation, cited Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive as well as a breakdown in security as factors crippling aid deliveries. Desperate Palestinians have resorted to overwhelming trucks in attempts to procure food.
Recent incidents, including an airstrike on an aid truck and attacks on other convoys, have further hindered relief efforts.
Since the Israeli invasion in late October, the north, including Gaza City, has remained cut off, with vast areas reduced to rubble and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians isolated from aid.
Reports from the area describe famine-like conditions, where families are forced to limit themselves to one meal a day and resort to mixing animal fodder with grains to bake bread.
Residents like Soad Abu Hussein, a widow and mother of five, and Ayman Abu Awad, a father of four, attest to the desperate measures they’ve had to take to survive.
The World Food Program assured that efforts are underway to resume deliveries promptly, urging for the opening of crossing points for aid directly into northern Gaza from Israel and a more efficient coordination system with the Israeli military.
However, it warned of an imminent humanitarian crisis, with hunger and disease claiming lives already.
