New York, SANA- The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called on Friday for the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted, emphasizing that access to food “is a basic human right.”
“The siege must be lifted. Humanitarian aid, including through UNRWA, must be allowed at scale into Gaza now.” UNRWA stated on X.

For his part, the director of medical relief in Gaza told Al Jazeera Arabic that 17,000 children in the Strip are suffering from malnutrition. He expressed concern that a large number of children will die as a result, unless serious intervention is taken.

Israel imposed a blockade on the entry of all aid into the enclave since March 2, including water, food and medical supplies. This exacerbated an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and has led to severe cases of malnutrition and the deaths of at least 57 children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, cited by the WHO.

UNRWA has criticized the US-backed Israeli aid distribution plan, implemented on May 27, for “putting lives at risk,” while the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has warned that the “weaponization of food” constitutes “a war crime.”

More than 500 Palestinians have been shot and killed at these aid distribution sites by Israeli forces who opened fire on the aid-seekers, including women, the elderly and children.

khadega/Nora/MH Ibrahim