\n
<\/p>\n
The alert comes nearly a month since the Israeli and US-backed\u00a0Gaza\u00a0Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operating on 27 May in select hubs, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs.<\/p>\n
Its food distribution points have been associated frequently with confusion and shooting as desperate and hungry Gazans rush to fetch supplies, said UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Keetan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael\u2019s militarized\u00a0humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,\u201d he insisted. \u201cThe weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime<\/strong> and,\u00a0under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes\u00a0under international law.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In its latest update on the emergency, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that \u201cscores of people of all ages are being killed and injured every day\u201d in the shattered enclave.<\/p>\n \u201cHumanitarian operations of sufficient scale are not facilitated, leaving unaddressed the critical needs of those who have so far survived,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n In Geneva, meanwhile, OHCHR\u2019s Mr. Al-Keetan explained that private aid hub victims were either \u201cshelled or shot\u201d by the Israel Defense Forces.\u00a0They have endangered civilians and contributed to the \u201ccatastrophic\u00a0humanitarian situation in Gaza\u201d, he maintained.<\/p>\n At least 93 people have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the few remaining aid convoys of the\u00a0UN\u00a0and other\u00a0aid partners still operating in Gaza.<\/p>\n In a previous alert, the UN human rights office has condemned the possible summary execution of\u00a0Palestinian staff associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation by armed men allegedly affiliated with Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cThese killings must end immediately, and those responsible held to account,\u201d the UN office said in a statement.<\/p>\n Most vulnerable miss out<\/strong><\/p>\n The OHCHR spokesperson noted that women and children, along with older people and those with disabilities continue to face \u201cmultiple challenges\u201d accessing food in Gaza today.<\/p>\n Looting of aid convoys is now commonplace in Gaza after more than 20 months of daily Israeli bombardment as a result of a near-total blockade on humanitarian supplies including food, fuel and medicine.<\/p>\n The result is that Gaza\u2019s most vulnerable individuals are unable to access any of this diverted aid, the UN human rights office told UN News<\/em>.<\/p>\n To date, at least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in incidents associated with the non-UN aid hubs and looting.<\/p>\n \u201cDesperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food,\u201d the UN human rights office explained.<\/p>\n Although the UN and other aid providers still function in Gaza, they are reliant on the Israeli authorities to facilitate their missions. On Saturday and Sunday, only eight out of 16 requests for humanitarian operations were approved, aid teams reported.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf of [the missions] were denied outright, hindering the tracking of water and fuel, the provision of nutrition services and the retrieval of the bodies,\u201d said Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the Information Service at UN Geneva.<\/p>\n Her comments followed a warning from the UN\u2019s top aid official in Gaza on Sunday who described dire scenes and \u201ccarnage\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is weaponized hunger. It is forced displacement. It\u2019s a death sentence for people just trying to survive. All combined, it appears to be the erasure of Palestinian life from Gaza,\u201d\u00a0said OCHA\u2019s Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jonathan Whittall.<\/p>\n Telecommunications have now been restored across Gaza after damaged fibre cables were repaired at the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in days, humanitarian teams have had more than 24 hours of relatively stable connectivity \u2013 something that is essential to coordinate emergency relief and save lives,\u201d OCHA said in Monday evening\u2019s update.<\/p>\n But without urgent fuel deliveries, telecommunications \u201cwill go down again very soon\u201d, the UN aid wing warned.<\/p>\n \u201cFuel is also needed to keep emergency rooms running, power ambulances, and operate water desalination and pumping stations,\u201d it explained.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, teams on the ground are rationing what little fuel remains and working to retrieve stocks stored inside Gaza, in areas that are hard to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n Access to Nasser Medical Complex is also limited because there is not enough fuel for transportation \u201cand health workers and patients fear for their safety\u201d, OCHA continued.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week, in Khan Younis, in-patient admissions at field hospitals increased threefold, largely due to access challenges at Nasser, which also saw an influx of trauma patients and has been overwhelmed since.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of Gaza remains under displacement orders issued by the Israeli military, including another one on Monday for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis city, reportedly following Palestinian rocket fire from these areas.<\/p>\n “These neighbourhoods were already subject to earlier displacement orders and include two hospitals \u2013 Al Amal and Nasser,” OCHA said. “While Israeli authorities have clarified that the hospitals are not required to evacuate, OCHA says the designation is nonetheless hindering access to those critical facilities for both patients and medical staff.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\nShelled or shot\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Ongoing aid obstacles<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Fuel crisis<\/h2>\n