Despite acute hunger, the UN food organization ceased assistance delivery to northern Gaza on Tuesday after a convoy of trucks was met by violence and looting.
“The World Food Programme (WFP) resumed deliveries on Sunday after a three-week halt but its convoy faced complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order”, the organization’s statement revealed.
Twenty weeks into Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, UN agencies have warned that food and safe water are in short supply, with WFP reporting unprecedented levels of desperation from its workers.
The Rome-based agency stated that it planned to send trucks of food every day for seven days.
“However, the convoy had to repel multiple attempts by people trying to climb aboard our trucks, then facing gunfire once we entered Gaza City on Sunday”, the statement reads.
It went on to say, “The second convoy’s drive north on Monday was marred by chaos and violence as a result of the breakdown in civil order”.
“Several trucks were looted, and a truck driver was assaulted. The remaining flour was given spontaneously from trucks in Gaza City, under great tension and explosive fury”, the statement continued.
WFP said it was compelled to halt delivery until conditions allow for safe distributions.
It further stated that the decision was not made lightly because it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger.
Gaza has been in a food crisis since the war began, with outside supplies severely restricted.
The conflict began after Hamas launched an offensive on southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,160 persons, the majority of whom were civilians.
According to the health ministry of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Israel’s assault has killed over 29,000 individuals, the majority of whom are women and children.
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