UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Gaza crisis has reached unprecedented levels of despair as people continue to go hungry across the strip, UN humanitarians said on Monday.
"Many are forced to risk their lives in search of food, amid further reports of people being killed and injured near non-UN distribution sites," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A field hospital of the International Committee of the Red Cross in west Rafah reported the arrival of 29 casualties, eight of whom were dead. Almost all had explosive trauma wounds, with two others admitted with gunshot wounds, said the UN agency.
"The UN reiterates that civilians must always be protected," it said.
The office said that fuel stocks in Gaza are severely low, putting further strain on critical services and humanitarian operations. Over the weekend, some 260,000 liters of fuel were looted in northern Gaza. Before this, the United Nations had repeatedly attempted to reach these stocks to retrieve them. But the Israeli authorities denied these attempts.
The office said that since mid-May, missions to retrieve the fuel were rejected by Israeli authorities 14 times. Humanitarian attempts to reach fuel supplies in Rafah in the south of Gaza, also continue to be denied. The world body warns that unless a solution is found in the coming days, the entire aid operation could come to a standstill.
It said that since the Israeli authorities allowed limited amounts of aid to enter Gaza on May 19, the United Nations and its partners have only been able to collect about 4,600 metric tons of wheat flour from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem border crossing.
"Most of it was taken by desperate, starving people before the supplies reached their destinations," the office said. "In some cases, stocks were looted by armed gangs."
It said that attacks on humanitarian assets and personnel must never be tolerated. Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility for public order and safety in Gaza, including allowing in far more essential supplies through multiple crossings and routes to meet humanitarian needs and help reduce looting.
Kerem Shalom is the only aid checkpoint open for the United Nations and its partners.
The UN agency said its partners working on food security in Gaza estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 metric tons of wheat flour is required to reach all families across the strip to ease the pressure on markets and reduce desperation alongside other diverse food supplies.
"The sustained and unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza must resume as soon as possible," the office said.
It said that over the weekend no missions were able to collect supplies from the sole crossing because the Israeli authorities closed it on Friday and Saturday.
Humanitarians said they continue to face major obstacles in delivering aid.
"The impediments include unacceptably dangerous routes, a severe shortage of vetted drivers, and delays, with teams having to wait, often for hours, for military activities to pause -- for their safety -- and for a green light to be given by the Israeli authorities to proceed, as well as the understandable hesitancy of truck drivers to operate in the current volatile environment," the office said.
In the West Bank, the office said Israeli forces continued operations in the north over the past week, destroying roads and disrupting Palestinians' access to essential services.
"The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to respond, including by providing water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the northern West Bank," it said. ■
