Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warned this morning that Israel's military operations have created "a humanitarian hellscape" in Gaza for six-and-a-half months. In order to prevent famine and preventable deaths from disease in Gaza, he called for a "quantum leap" in humanitarian aid, including addressing the difficulties hampering delivery.
Guterres underscored that delivering aid at scale requires Israel’s “full and active facilitation” of humanitarian operations, something that must be implemented immediately. He warned that under the current conditions, UN aid operations cannot proceed in an organized, systematic way.
Following Israeli commitments to improve aid delivery in Gaza, the Secretary-General said there have been some examples of limited progress – but cautioned that apparent steps forward in one area are often canceled out by delays and restrictions elsewhere.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that this week, two of the agency’s convoys crossed into Gaza from Ashdod Port, via the Kerem Shalom border crossing point. The first convoy on Tuesday was eight trucks, followed by a second convoy on Wednesday with seven trucks. In total, they delivered 374 tons of wheat flour. WFP says 14 additional trucks are being loaded today and will depart soon.
As part of its emergency response, the agency has shipped some 2,700 metric tons of wheat flour to Ashdod Port. WFP says the sustained use of that port – as well as a smoother movement of convoys via Kerem Shalom into Gaza – will notably reduce the waiting time for cargo entering the Gaza Strip.
WFP also reported today that this week, three of its convoys – 25 trucks in total – crossed into northern Gaza via the Erez crossing for the first time. The convoys – which moved on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – brought in more than 400 metric tons of food and wheat flour, enough for nearly 80,000 people.
The agency warns that the only way to halt famine is through daily deliveries of food supplies. This requires conditions that allow humanitarian staff and supplies to move freely – and people in need to access assistance safely.
Meanwhile, Sigrid Kaag, the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, has just concluded another visit to Gaza. She traveled to Khan Younis in the south, where she witnessed the war’s impact on Palestinian civilians firsthand. While there, Ms. Kaag visited a maternity ward in an International Medical Corps field hospital, as well as the Nasser Medical complex. She spoke with the director and medical staff at Nasser about the challenges of securing the entry and supply of urgently needed medical items.
In addition to these visits, the World Health Organization's Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Rik Peeperkorn, accompanied Kaag. Kaag recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other cabinet members of the Israeli government.
Haiti
The UN and humanitarian partners continue to reach hundreds of thousands of people with critical assistance, amid ongoing violence in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
The World Food Programme reports that across the country, more than 210,000 school children received meals yesterday – and more than 18,000 people were reached with cash transfers.
WFP also provided hot meals to more than 13,000 displaced people in the capital yesterday. As part of the agency's emergency response, more than 100 metric tons of food rations were distributed to about 8,000 people.