Israeli bombardments on Gaza affecting humanitarian efforts, UNRWA says
Palestinians inspect damages following an Israeli raid at Kamal Adwan hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip December 16, 2023. REUTERS/Fadi Alwhidifa
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees declared on Saturday that the raging Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip hinder humanitarian efforts in the region.
Juliette Touma, the communications director at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
In an interview with the BBC News channel said it is difficult to access those who need us most and fulfill our duties.
She said that “imposed access restrictions, limited supplies and continued heavy bombardments prevent UNRWA’s ability to provide aid in.”
Adding that it has become difficult to deliver aid under a sky full of airstrikes.
Meanwhile, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The war, according to the World Health body, has taken a heavy toll on the people of Gaza.
In reprisal for a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel has bombed Gaza from the air and land, imposed a siege, and launched a ground offensive.
No fewer than 18,800 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have since been killed and 51,000 injured in the Israeli attacks since the war began.
According to official numbers, the Israeli death toll from the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, with the Palestinian group still holding more than 130 hostages in Gaza.
