ALBAWABA - The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli forces are "systematically" blocking access to people in Gaza, complicating the task of delivering aid in what has become a lawless war zone.
"It has become nearly impossible to evacuate the sick or wounded and deliver aid in northern Gaza and increasingly difficult in the south," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
Israeli officials have blocked all scheduled assistance convoys to the north in recent weeks. According to the World Health Organization, the last time people were permitted in was January 23, even convoys that had been pre-approved by Israeli authorities were halted or fired upon.
Laerke highlighted an incident on Sunday in which a convoy to evacuate 24 patients from the besieged Al Amal hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, organized by the WHO and the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS), was stalled for seven hours and paramedics were detained by the Israeli forces.
"Despite prior coordination for all staff members and vehicles with the Israeli side, the Israeli forces blocked the WHO-led convoy for many hours the moment it left the hospital," Laerke told journalists in Geneva.
"The Israeli military forced patients and staff out of ambulances and stripped all paramedics of their clothes," he told reporters.
The convoy had to leave another 31 patients behind at Al-Amal, which is no longer operational following 40 strikes in the last month alone, killing at least 25 people.
"Three PRCS paramedics were subsequently detained, although their personal details had been shared with the Israeli forces in advance," Laerke said in a statement.
"Aid convoys have come under fire and are systematically denied access to people in need (meaning) humanitarian workers are subject to unacceptable and preventable risk".
The PRCS said that it would cease operations in Gaza for 48 hours due to Israel's failure to safeguard the safety of its emergency medical staff.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The latest statistics by the Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed that the death toll from Israeli brutal pounding on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has soared to 29,782 people, with more than 70,043 injuries.
Since then, approximately 85% of Gazans have been displaced, all of whom are suffering from severe food insecurity, and the healthcare system has collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of people lack shelter, and aid trucks are entering the area at a lower rate than before the conflict began.
