UN agencies fear Gaza crossing closures deal blow to humanitarian progress

UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The closure of all Gaza cargo crossing points is undoing critical progress in delivering vital, life-saving assistance since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19, UN agencies said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said food security is at risk of worsening, and its partners warned that if the disruption to aid entry continues, at least 80 community kitchens may soon run out of stock.

"The United Nations and its partners are still distributing food parcels and flour to households," the office said. "These distributions may be reduced or suspended so that bakeries continue to receive the supplies required to keep operating."

OCHA said food security partners are distributing vegetable seeds and animal feed to support the restoration of local food production. However, the program depends on a steady flow of supplies.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said the cutoff of aid will have far-reaching consequences for women and girls in Gaza.

"The fragile ceasefire provided a desperately needed respite for women and girls in Gaza, and allowed UN agencies, including UNFPA, to finally scale up the delivery of life-saving assistance to affected Palestinians across the Gaza Strip," the agency said in a statement. "The reinstatement of the blockade threatens to reverse progress at a critical time when people are struggling to survive."

UNFPA said over the past 10 weeks, working with partners, it had provided 170,000 women and girls reproductive health and protection services, set up 16 temporary health facilities, supported thousands of pregnant women, ensured the availability of medicines, distributed shelter kits and provided vital supplies to nearly 4,500 new mothers.

The agency underscored the urgency of humanitarian access, stressing that Israel must facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid regardless of whether the ceasefire holds.

Education is another field feeling a squeeze. OCHA said that access restrictions are making it harder for schools to resume learning, given shortages of educational supplies in the markets.

Some students have been able to return to school after displaced families vacated school buildings that had been used as shelters. However, the office said the schools lack proper furniture, clean water, functioning toilets, and basic materials such as notebooks and pens.

OCHA said funding for the humanitarian response remains a major challenge.

"More than two months into the year, we have secured less than 4 percent of the 4 billion U.S. dollars required to meet the most basic humanitarian needs across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in Gaza," OCHA said. "The scale of needs is staggering, and so is the shortfall." ■