Israel's restrictions on Gaza aid breach international law, says UN official

Israel is breaching international law by continuing to impose restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, where the population remains critically short of food and lifesaving goods as winter sets in, said a senior official at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

- Jennifer Rankin

In an interview during a recent visit to Brussels, Natalie Boucly, an Unrwa deputy commissioner general, said the whole world - including the EU and US - needed to increase the pressure on Israel's government to ensure the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza.

Unrwa has enough food, tents and other essentials to fill the equivalent of up to 6,000 trucks, Boucly said.

"As winter approaches and famine continues to grip the population, it is critical that all this aid is allowed into Gaza without delay," she said.

"Our supplies would be able to provide food ... for the entire population for about three months. And that is sitting outside [in Jordan and Egypt], not able to come in. And that is the case for the other UN agencies because the restrictions and the constraints are still there."

She estimated that only about half, "if that", of the 500-600 daily truckloads needed were getting into the devastated territory.