Geneva (Reuters)-Gaza has received more food help, but what enters is still far from enough to placate extreme and widespread hunger at the enclave, the head of the World Food Program (WFP) told Reuters on Thursday.
“We’re getting a little more food. We’re going in the right direction … But it’s not enough to do what we need to make sure people are not malnourished and hungry,” WFP executive director Cindy McCain said in an interview with Reuters via Jerusalem’s video link.
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McCain said WFP can now send about 100 aid trucks per day to Gaza. During the two-month ceasefire that ended in mid-March, there were 600 daily trucks.
Cogat, the arm of the Israeli Armed Forces that supervises the flux of help to the enclave, said in a joint statement with the army of Israel that every day more than 300 humanitarian aid trucks enter Gaza, the vast majority carrying food.
McCain met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, according to his offices. An Israeli statement reported that they agreed to redouble their efforts to streamline and maintain the entry of humanitarian items in Gaza, given the extreme needs on site.
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A report released on Friday by a global hunger monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phases Classification System (IPC) said approximately 514,000 people-almost a quarter of the Gaza population-face extreme hunger conditions in the city of Gaza and surroundings.
Israel has repeatedly rejected such conclusions, classifying them as false and biased in favor of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which he has fought in his nearly two-year war.
McCain, who visited Deir Al-Balah and Khan Youis this week-including a support clinic for pregnant and lactating children and women-highlighted the continuous difficulties in delivering help to vulnerable populations in the gaza’s bowels.
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“What we saw was a total devastation. Basically, the area was devastated and we saw people who are seriously hungry and malnourished,” McCain said.
“This proved my point of view that we need to be able to get deep into it (Gaza) so that we can ensure that they can consistently have what they need,” he added.
According to her, the modest improvement in the entry of food and commercial supplies in Gaza has helped prices to fall, but most people still can’t buy food.
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McCain said he was hopeful that WFP has more access to Gaza after the meeting on Wednesday with Israeli military office chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, during which she pressed for unrestricted access, safer routes and guarantees that trucks do not face long delays after the release is granted.
A military statement said that Zamir emphasized Israel’s commitment to avoid hunger and allowing humanitarian aid to reach the inhabitants of Gaza.
The IPC report also warned that hunger could spread to the central and southern districts of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
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McCain described the IPC report as the “gold standard” to measure food insecurity.
Israel considered the report “deeply flawed” and asked the IPC to remove it on Wednesday. The IPC did not commented immediately.
(Report by Olivia Le Poidevin)
