UN will reduce aid “footprint” in Gaza, humanitarian crisis worsens
The UN has announced it will reduce its aid “footprint” in Gaza following the increased danger from military offensives, which will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Reported by AP News on March 25th, the international institution said on March 24th that it will temporarily remove one-third of its staff from Gaza after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer and wounding five others.
A UN spokesperson has said the location of the UN compound was well known to all the parties to the conflict and have pointed the finger at Israel for the explosion on the UN Guesthouse in Central Gaza saying, “based on the information currently available,” the strikes “were caused by an Israeli tank.”
After Israel relaunched its military campaign, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed whilst the blockade has cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza’s population for the past three weeks.
The humanitarian crisis will worsen with the removal of UN staff, responsible for providing aid and support to the Gazan population which had just started to recover during the ceasefire.
According to Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) said that its partners have already suspended a number of activities due to concerns over the safety of UN staff. Only 29 out of 237 temporary learning spaces have resumed their activities since the collapse of the ceasefire.
The humanitarian impact cannot be underestimated. The UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said on Monday 24th that 124,000 people have been forced to flee what it called “relentless bombing.”
The health ministry in Gaza released a list of name on March 24th of more than 15,000 children, 17 and under, killed by Israel’s campaign since October 7th which 5,000 children under the age of 6. Nearly 900 had been under a year old.
Maghrebi has also reported on the recent attack on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis which killed a senior Hamas official in the political bureau of the armed group. The attack also killed a 17-year-old boy who had been recovering from surgery.
The reduction in UN staff in Gaza will inevitably worsen this humanitarian crisis as the international organisation also grapples with the reduction in funding after Donald Trump froze US foreign aid, causing the UN to suspend staff, budgets and services from Afghanistan to Ukraine to Sudan.
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