Shaaban Bilal and Abdullah Abu Deif (Rafah, Cairo)
World Food Program spokeswoman Reem Nada warned that all residents of Gaza face difficult levels of hunger and the number of people in need of assistance in all its forms is increasing day after day after more than 110 days of war, as the situation has become desperate at the present time with the threat… Famine looms on the horizon.
Nada said in an interview with Al-Ittihad that all residents of the Strip suffer from catastrophic levels of food insecurity and live in the extreme stage of extreme hunger, which weakens the immune system and makes it vulnerable to disease, and the spread of infectious diseases in crowded shelters, with an acute water shortage, which makes Things get worse, as children become so weak that a bout of diarrhea becomes fatal.
She said, “Pregnant women do not get enough food, which affects the health of fetuses and newborns, and the shortage of food, water and medical assistance is particularly exacerbated in the northern Gaza Strip, amid serious restrictions on humanitarian work as a result of the closure of the crossings and the multi-stage screening process for trucks arriving into Gaza.” Once you enter the sector.
She pointed to the obstacles facing efforts to establish aid distribution points due to bombing operations and constantly changing battle fronts, which threatens the safety of Gaza residents and workers in the United Nations and the humanitarian field who are striving to deliver relief.
The World Food Program spokesperson said, “There is an urgent need for a radical change in the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip due to the increasing risk of famine and the exposure of more people to outbreaks of deadly diseases, as all Gazans depend on aid to survive in the absence of the ability to produce or import food.” .
She added that humanitarian aid alone cannot meet the basic needs of the population of the Gaza Strip because the United Nations, international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations are unable to deliver sufficient humanitarian aid in the extremely difficult circumstances, noting that the quantities are much less than what is required.
Neda considered that to avoid a major disaster, all types of aid must be provided through all possible methods and water, sanitation and hygiene services must be restored.
Reem Nada stated, “The World Food Program is working to expand its network of local partners so that it can carry out distribution in their locations, as aid was recently distributed to about 10,000 families in a wedding hall, while local stores are being used as distribution points to facilitate people’s access to their aid.”
She added, “The program's work includes supporting existing systems and the local economy, including bakeries, to get back on their feet by providing them with flour and other necessary resources. 50 days after their closure, 9 bakeries in Deir al-Balah and Rafah began producing bread again for the residents.”
The UN spokeswoman stressed that “what the World Food Program and other humanitarian agencies are achieving is not enough, and that the only way to stop the rapid slide into disease, malnutrition, famine and death is to launch a massive multi-agency humanitarian operation in conditions where access is safe and secure, and this can only happen if “There was a permanent ceasefire.”
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