Martin Griffiths stated that Israel decided not to limit the number of trucks transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza and highlighted the lack of fuel for the arrival of essential goods.
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Israel has decided not to impose a limit on the number of humanitarian aid trucks that can enter the Gaza Strip, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths announced on Wednesday.
The official highlighted, however, that there is a lack of fuel for essential goods to reach the inhabitants of that Palestinian enclave and international financing for this operation.
“We have the trucks, we need fuel and financing. “I want it to be clear what our priorities are,” Griffiths declared, denying that the UN does not have a plan on how to help the population of the Gaza Strip.
The humanitarian leader explained that, of the 1.2 billion dollars (1,106 million euros) that the United Nations requested for the Gaza crisis, only around 30 million dollars (27.6 million euros) were received.
On Wednesday they entered the Gaza Strip. 460 trucks and between 23,000 and 24,000 liters of fuel, which is equivalent to half a tanker trucka figure that contrasts with the 200,000 liters that the UN considers necessary for humanitarian aid to reach those who need it most.
“Fuel is essential for many things, not only for transportation, but also for water desalination, the operation of hospitals and the supply of electricity,” he explained.
Griffiths maintained that the plan that UN humanitarian agencies have for Gaza is “the standard”, with the same procedures applicable to any war situation, such as those in Ukraine or Sudan.
Furthermore, the humanitarian official defended the right of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to go wherever they want and whenever they want, without obstacles or impediments, but with freedom of movement, while the UN must have security guarantees to reach them.
To this end, he highlighted that, in the case of Gaza, what is known in UN jargon as a “humanitarian notification system” must be fully operational, which consists of ceasing armed actions in specific places so that the UN can move and comply. aid.
Regarding a recent meeting with Iran’s foreign minister, Griffiths said they discussed the risk of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas spreading regionally, “which would not be good.”
On October 7, fighters from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, carried out an attack on Israeli territory of unprecedented since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, it left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, around 5,000 injured and more than 200 hostages.
In retaliation, Israel declared a war to “eradicate” Hamas, which began with cuts to food, water, electricity and fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip and daily shelling, followed by a ground offensive that surrounded Gaza City.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which turned 40 days this Wednesday and threatens to spread to the entire Middle East region, has so far left 11,320 dead in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, 28,200 injured and 3,250 missing. under the rubble and more than 1.6 million people are displaced, according to the most recent report from local authorities.
Source: Observadora
