Title: Gaza’s Isolated North Faces Severe Food Shortage as Aid Convoy Permits are Denied
Residents living in the isolated north of Gaza are experiencing a dire shortage of food as aid convoys are increasingly being denied permits to enter the area. With limited options left, people are resorting to grinding animal feed into flour to survive, however, even stocks of these grains are now dwindling.
The United Nations has recently issued a warning, stating that acute malnutrition among young children in the northern region has sharply risen and surpassed the critical threshold of 15%. Shockingly, more than half of the aid missions intended for this area were denied access last month, leaving approximately 300,000 individuals cut off from essential assistance and facing an increasingly dire risk of famine.
However, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating aid access in Gaza has denied claims of starvation, asserting that there are no limitations on the amount of humanitarian aid sent to the region. Despite these assertions, the World Food Programme (WFP) has reported that, over the past several months, four out of the last five aid convoys destined for the north have been halted by Israeli forces, resulting in a devastating two-week gap between deliveries to Gaza City.
The situation has worsened significantly, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) confirming a sharp escalation in the number of aid missions being denied access to the north of Gaza. The percentage has surged from 14% between October and December to a staggering 56% in January alone.
In addition to the shortage of food, residents in the affected region are grappling with unreliable water supplies, forcing many to resort to primitive means such as digging for water by hand. Prior to the conflict, Gaza was heavily reliant on food aid, and now its agricultural industry lies in ruins or has been abandoned. Startling figures from the UN indicate that more than 50% of agricultural land in the central region of Deir al-Balah has suffered severe damages.
Furthermore, aid deliveries have become increasingly complicated due to the growing desperation among Gaza’s people. This has presented significant challenges for aid organizations, hindering their ability to distribute assistance effectively.
Experts contend that a critical resolution lies in brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas, as it is widely seen as the only way to ensure increased aid enters Gaza and improve the dire living conditions for its residents.
