geneva: Aid convoys were struggling to reach famine-stricken areas of northern Gaza due to the continued closure of war-damaged roads and key routes, the United Nations said on Friday.
An average of about 560 metric tons of food was entering the Gaza Strip every day since the US-brokered halt to the devastating two-year war.
Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief, said this week that thousands of aid vehicles would need to enter weekly to tackle widespread malnutrition, homelessness and infrastructure collapse.
A UN spokesman confirmed that Fletcher traveled to Gaza on Friday to meet with humanitarian workers and UN agencies.
Fletcher posted on Twitter that he was supporting the teams as they delivered a 60-day plan to massively scale up lifesaving work.
World Food Program spokesman Abeer Atefa told a Geneva press briefing that despite the ceasefire opening a narrow window of opportunity, aid levels remained below what was needed.
WFP confirmed that it has not started distribution in Gaza City due to the continued closure of the two northern border crossings with Israel in Ziqim and Erez.
Etefa described access to Gaza City and northern Gaza as extremely challenging, with convoys being hampered by broken or blocked roads.
He stressed the vital importance of opening northern routes to turn the tide of the crisis, where famine has taken hold.
The global medical charity Medecins Sans Frontiers reported that many relief agencies have not fully returned to the north, where hospitals are barely functioning.
MSF emergency coordinator Jacob Granger describes a woman with shrapnel wounds in Gaza City who was denied medical care for five days earlier this month.
When the woman finally saw an MSF nurse, her wound was found to be infected with worms and insects.
Although small amounts of nutrition products have reached the north, relief convoys are unable to carry significant amounts of food there.
The UN humanitarian coordination agency reported that about 950 trucks entered southern and central Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Kisufim crossings with Israel on Thursday.
After this, about 715 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday, including 16 fuel and gas trucks. – Reuters
