\n<\/p>\n
The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months \u2013 if full access is granted by Israel.<\/p>\n
One week into the fragile ceasefire, WFP has been bringing in an average of 560 tonnes of food each day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ceasefire deal has opened a narrow window of opportunity, and WFP is moving very quickly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have endured months of blockade, displacement and hunger<\/strong>,\u201d said Abeer Etefa, WFP Senior Regional Communications Officer and Spokesperson for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Ms. Etefa said teams and supply networks were fully mobilised.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still below what we need, but we\u2019re getting there,\u201d she noted. Five food distribution points are now operating across Gaza, focusing on women and children. \u201cOur goal is to expand to 145 distribution points across all of Gaza<\/strong>\u2014that\u2019s the scale we\u2019re aiming for,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Aid agencies stress that sustained access and multiple crossings are essential to reach everyone in need. Only two crossings are currently open, and those in the north remain closed, restricting deliveries to the hardest hit areas.<\/p>\n \u201cRoads are blocked and destroyed. This is a huge limitation to transport<\/strong>,\u201d Ms. Etefa said.<\/p>\n Because of access and security constraints, no food distributions have yet taken place in Gaza City, only nutrition supplies for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.<\/p>\n Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office (OCHA), said the northern crossings remain closed \u201cbecause the Israeli authorities have not opened them\u201d.<\/p>\n He added that road repairs and clearance of unexploded ordnance are also essential for safety and access. \u201cIt is very important to have these openings in the north, as that is where the famine took hold,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to WFP, 57,000 tonnes of food are already pre-positioned in Egypt, Jordan and inside Israel, with plans to scale up to 170,000 tonnes \u2013 enough for 1.6 million people over three months. \u201cBeyond that, we need to maintain at least three months of stocks at all times,\u201d Ms. Etefa said.<\/p>\n On 16 October, 950 trucks entered Gaza<\/strong>, including eight carrying fuel and three carrying gas, according to OCHA. Around of third of them passed through UN-coordinated mechanisms.<\/p>\nFive distribution points now open<\/h2>\n
170,000-tonne aid scale up<\/h2>\n