Watan-The spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, announced that the United Nations has received authorization from Israel to allow around 100 additional aid trucks into Gaza today, Tuesday.
In a press conference held in Geneva, Laerke stated:“We requested permission to send more trucks today, and we received it—far more than what was approved yesterday.”
When asked to specify the number, he replied, “Approximately 100.”
Following an 11-week Israeli blockade, Israel allowed nine aid trucks to enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday. However, Laerke noted that only five of those trucks actually made it into Gaza.
“The next step is to receive them, and then distribute them according to the current system… a system that has proven efficient,” he said, adding that the trucks contain food and nutritional products for children and infants.
During the same press conference, a health official from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that malnutrition rates in Gaza have increased since the onset of the Israeli blockade and are likely to continue rising significantly if food shortages persist.
Akihiro Seita, Director of UNRWA’s Health Department, stated:“I have data up to the end of April showing an increase in malnutrition. Therefore, the concern is that if the current food shortage continues, the malnutrition situation will worsen steadily—eventually becoming uncontrollable.”
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