KUALA LUMPUR - The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Gaza is "hanging by a thread” as it called for urgent and safe access to reach the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians on the verge of famine.
In a statement, the UN agency said it has reluctantly had to pause aid deliveries to north Gaza until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions.
"The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger,” the agency said Tuesday.
It added that it is "deeply committed” to urgently reaching desperate people across the war-torn enclave "but the safety and security to deliver critical food aid - and for the people receiving it - must be ensured”.
WFP said that its deliveries to northern Gaza had resumed on Sunday (Feb 18) after a three-week suspension following the strike on a UN Palestine relief agency truck and due to the absence of a functioning humanitarian notification system.
However the convoy and the second convoy on Monday had faced "complete chaos and violence” due to the collapse of civil order, resulting in looting of the supplies amid gunfire.
The agency emphasised that it will seek ways to resume deliveries in a responsible manner as soon as possible, underscoring the need for significantly higher volumes of food coming into the Gaza Strip from multiple routes, and for crossing points to the north of Gaza to be open.
"A functioning humanitarian notification system and a stable communication network are needed. And security, for our staff and partners as well as for the people we serve, must be facilitated.
"Gaza is hanging by a thread and WFP must be enabled to reverse the path towards famine for thousands of desperately hungry people,” the agency said.
In December, the UN and humanitarian partners warned of the risk of famine in northern Gaza by May unless conditions there improved decisively.
The situation is particularly dire for children, pregnant women and new mothers, with one in six children acutely malnourished.
At least 21,200 people have been killed and over 69,000 wounded in Israel bombardment on Gaza since Oct 7.
The attacks also caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities, leading to a humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave. - BERNAMA