Gazans being denied essentials despite accord

WorldFoodDaywascelebratedlast Thursday isi 733 million people go hungry every day, 2.33 billion people face moderate to severe food insecurity, and 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Hunger is driven by conflict, climate change, and economic shocks and deliberate privation.

- Michael Jansen, Political Correspondent

Israel is punishing living Palestinians in Gaza with the blockade of food, water and medicine because Hamas has been unable to deliver all the bodies of dead Israelis lying in unmarked, unknown graves. Heavy lifting equipment is needed to unearth some of the bodies. Turkey — which has had experience in retrieval due to earthquakes —has offered to help but has not gained entry.

Under the week-old ceasefire agreement, Israel is obliged to allow 600 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza per day. However, Israel has in theory limited entry to 300 trucks per day. In practice, UN monitors reported that between October 10-16, 216 trucks have reached their intended destinations inside Gaza. Truck drivers blame delays on Israeli inspections causing long lines to trucks queuing on the highway on the Egyptian border crossing to Gaza.

While insufficient food aid has gained entry, medical equipment, therapeutic nutrition items and medicines have not and remain in extremely short supply, depriving poor, malnourished children in particular. Commercial trucks enter Gaza with fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and chicken, but these items are unaffordable for most Palestinians who are without jobs and whose savings have disappeared in two years of warfare and privation.