The situation in the Gaza Strip is getting worse. Aid organizations speak of an impending famine. The Israeli army sees it differently.
Tel Aviv/Gaza – While aid organizations in the Gaza Strip speak of an impending famine, Israel's army presents the situation differently. “According to our assessment, based on our discussions with the UN and other humanitarian organizations, there is sufficient food in the Gaza Strip,” said Elad Goren from the relevant Cogat authority. “We are also seeing improved access to water and food.” However, in order for more aid to reach the coastal area sealed off by Israel, the UN and other aid organizations must “urgently” increase their own capacities to receive and distribute aid.
On the same day, the head of the UN emergency relief office OCHA, Martin Griffiths, described the situation in Gaza as increasingly dramatic. “Gaza has become a place of death and despair,” he said. “The last 12 weeks have been traumatic, especially for children,” said the UN emergency aid coordinator. “No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrible sounds of war, day after day.” The Gaza Strip had simply become “uninhabitable,” explained Griffith.
In contrast, the responsible representative of the Israeli Cogat authority said: “We have stabilized the humanitarian situation on site.” There is also a “stabilization of the medical system” in Gaza. At the same time, he rejected allegations that Israel was hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid. “We have not turned down a single shipment of food, water, medicine or emergency shelter,” Goren said. “Israel has not and will not deny human assistance to the people of Gaza who do not belong to terror.”
The Gaza war was triggered by the horrific terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 22,600 people have been killed in Gaza since then. dpa
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