WFP: Humanitarian Operations Become Ever More Difficult to Carry Out in Gaza

Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe at the World Food Programme (WFP) Corinne Fleischer stressed that humanitarian operations have become ever more difficult to carry out in Gaza. In a press conference held in New York, Fleischer said that the increased violence is "choking our efforts to prevent famine in Gaza", where half a million people are in catastrophic and famine-like conditions. Aid workers spend "endless hours" waiting for movement authorizations, Fleischer said pointing out that roads are already destroyed, and the upcoming winter season will make them even more impassable. She stated that some two million Palestinians are crammed into ever-decreasing space. Fleischer said that since she left Gaza, humanitarians have seen more Israeli evacuation orders and the massive deterioration of the security environment, which have affected their activities. "WFP lost access to its third warehouse and last operational warehouse in Gaza in the Middle Area under evacuatio n order. We lost five WFP-supported community kitchens that had to be evacuated, and we lost close to 20 distribution points across the Strip," she said. Fleischer appealed for more crossing points, streamlined operations so humanitarians can carry out their tasks, and the restoration of law and order so that they can safely reach people in need. "And we also need cash to come back to Gaza so that people can start buying again in the shops," she said. Source: Qatar News Agency