\n<\/p>\n
Only around 6,000 tonnes of wheat flour have entered the war-torn enclave since Israel began to allow limited supplies back in last month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, 10,000 tonnes are urgently needed in the face of rising malnutrition, according to the UN aid coordination office OCHA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way to address the situation on the ground is by re-opening additional crossings<\/strong>,\u201d said OCHA\u2019s Olga Cherevko, speaking to UN News<\/em> from Khan Younis.<\/p>\n She also stressed the need to allow \u201cunlimited and unfettered supply of aid to enter,\u201d which includes items that go beyond food such as shelter materials, fuel, cooking gas, \u201cand other necessary elements to sustain life in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Cherevko urged the Israeli authorities to make the task of delivering aid easier by \u201cproviding a safe and enabling environment,\u201d reducing waiting times for humanitarian missions and ensuring access to people in need.\u202f<\/p>\n People in Gaza are suffering from harsh living conditions. Since March, Israeli restrictions on border crossings have tightened, making it even more difficult for Gaza\u2019s population \u2013 more than two million people – to access food.\u00a0<\/p>\n Senior UN officials, including Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and Humanitarian Affairs chief Tom Fletcher, have described the aid that has entered as merely\u00a0 \u201ca trickle\u201d or a\u00a0 \u201ca drop in the ocean\u201d.<\/p>\n Although markets are crowded with people, they lack two essential elements: liquidity and goods.<\/p>\n Most residents thus face three bitter choices<\/strong>: either seek food aid from the newly established US and Israel-backed distribution mechanism, which has already claimed dozens of lives in recent days; watch their children starve; or pay dearly for what\u2019s left of the goods and looted humanitarian aid in markets.<\/p>\n \u201cPrices are unnatural, much higher than in Europe,\u201d civil servant Akram Yousef recently told our UN News<\/em> correspondent in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation is very difficult, and we have been like this for two years. In addition to displacement, homelessness, bombing, destruction, and devastation, traders are raising prices, and citizens are unable to bear this burden. What can we do<\/strong>?\u201d<\/p>\n More than 20 months of conflict have made living conditions in the Gaza Strip unbearable, and the cost of living is now among the highest in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahmed Al-Bahri, who was displaced from Beit Lahia with his family, said a loaf of bread now sells for seven shekels, or roughly $2.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no flour, no milk, no diapers for children, or anything to eat<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cWe live in a state of constant hunger. Where can I get seven shekels to buy a loaf of bread for my child? What is this child’s sin?\u201d<\/p>\n A flour seller in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The cessation of Palestinian banks\u2019 operations since the start of the war in October 2023 has exacerbated the suffering.\u00a0<\/p>\n People are forced to use phone apps to withdraw money from their bank accounts and to access their pensions through local merchants who charge exorbitant commissions.<\/p>\n Mr. Youssef, the civil servant, said the commission for withdrawing his salary was 20 per cent, but over time it has increased to nearly 50 per cent.<\/p>\n Several residents told UN News<\/em> that the price of one kilogramme of flour is now 100 shekels, equivalent to roughly $29.<\/p>\n “If a salary is 2,000 shekels, it becomes 1,000 shekels after commission,\u201d another man, Ashraf Al-Deiri, explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe daily expenses of an average or small family are no less than 500 shekels (roughly $143). So, we are experiencing great suffering and need someone to have mercy on us and stand by us.”<\/p>\n A young man called Raed Tafesh expressed shock over the high prices, especially since most of his peers are unemployed and lack any source of income.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t earn a single shekel. We are not employed, and we don’t have jobs. We are dying slowly. We have become envious of the dead<\/strong>,” he said.<\/p>\n The tragic conditions are reflected in the eyes of mothers and fathers who see their children starving, such as Nimir Ghazal.\u00a0 She said her salary is not even enough to buy fruits, vegetables or any healthy food for her children.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I cry when my hungry children ask for a piece of bread. A kilo of flour costs 100 shekels, and lentils cost 50. One kilo is not enough for my family, but I buy it and share it among them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Monday, UN teams were able to collect some supplies, mainly flour, from the Kerem Shalom border crossing.\u00a0 The aid was bound for Gaza City when hungry and desperate people snatched it directly from the trucks.<\/p>\n There have also been previous instances of looting and attacks on truck drivers which the UN categorically rejects.\u00a0<\/p>\n OCHA has emphasized that Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility for maintaining public order and safety in Gaza. This should include allowing more essential supplies to enter through multiple crossings and roads to meet humanitarian needs and help curb looting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBeyond food aid<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Difficult decisions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Exorbitant fees<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\u2018We have become envious of the dead\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
UN efforts continue<\/strong><\/h2>\n