Only 119 aid trucks have arrived in Gaza since Israel lifted the blockade on Monday to allow limited aid into Gaza according to an umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups, reported Reuters on Friday.
The umbrella network also said some of the aid trucks that made it into the besieged strip have been looted by groups of men, near the city of Khan Younis, according to the report.
Although security teams were protecting the aid trucks, the Israeli military targeted and killed members of the security teams, which paved the way for the looting to take place.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said on X that “the aid going in now is a needle in a haystack”.
He said 500 to 600 aid trucks were needed every day, adding that “we brought in an average of 500-600 trucks a day without diversion or looting”. The number of aid trucks that have been allowed into Gaza this week is less than five percent of this figure.
Lazzarini also added, “No one should be surprised, let alone shocked at scenes of precious aid looted, stolen or “lost”. The people of Gaza have been starved and deprived of the basics including water and medicines for more than 11 weeks.
“Mothers and fathers have run out of food for their children. Older people died because of lack of medicines.
“A meaningful and uninterrupted flow of aid is the only way to prevent the current disaster from spiraling further, he said.”
UNICEF’s deputy executive director said at least 75 per cent of households in Gaza report that they do not have enough water to drink, at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday.
Ted Chaiban said the lack of access of water was caused by 70 percent of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure sustaining damage or being destroyed since Israel’s war began.
He added that “repeated blockades” have prevented the entry of fuel and critical components needed to run water facilities in Gaza.
“Currently, the desalination plant in southern Gaza is working at reduced capacity on backup generators,” he said.
“We urgently need the power supply to the desalination plant to be switched back on to provide at least 600,000 internally displaced Gazans in the south of the Strip with access to safe water.”
