NEW YORK, January 10. /TASS/. The hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate due to a severe shortage of food supplies, exacerbated by harsh access restrictions in the region, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The report highlights that approximately 120,000 tons of food aid, enough to supply the entire Gaza population with full food packages for over three months, remain outside the enclave due to Israeli authorities blocking most requests for food aid deliveries. Humanitarian partners warn that, without additional aid deliveries, the distribution of food kits to hungry families will be severely limited. Furthermore, around 50 community kitchens that provide over 200,000 meals daily in central and southern Gaza are at risk of closure in the coming days, the report warns.
Tensions escalated again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel’s territory, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children, and the elderly. In response, Israel initiated a military campaign in Gaza with the objective of destroying the military and political structure of Hamas and rescuing all those abducted. Combat operations in the Gaza Strip continue to this day.