World news summary: UN aid chief on Rafah, fuel shortages in Gaza, growing famine in Haiti
“With today’s adoption Security Council resolution 2730 calls for the protection of humanitarian workers and International Court of Justice‘S order to open the Rafah border gate to deliver aid on a large scale and prevent a military attack there, this is a clear moment,” he said in statement.
“This is a time to demand respect for the rules of war to which everyone is bound: Civilians must be allowed to seek safety. Humanitarian relief must be carried out easily and without hindrance. Aid workers and UN staff must be able to carry out their work safely.”
More than a million people were sheltering in Rafah, located south of Gaza, before the offensive began on May 6.
Mr Griffiths said the ground intrusion “was a tragedy beyond words”, forcing more than 800,000 people to evacuate again and to areas lacking adequate shelter, toilets and clean water. fit.
“It has cut off the flow of aid into southern Gaza and paralyzed humanitarian operations that were already beyond their limits,” he said.
Food distribution in the south has been halted, while fuel supplies to “Gaza’s lifeblood – bakeries, hospitals and water wells” have slowed to a trickle.
Pay attention to the call
“While Israel has rejected calls from the international community to spare Rafah, the global call for an immediate halt to this attack has become too loud to ignore,” he said.
“At a time when the people of Gaza are facing famine; when the hospital was attacked or invaded; when aid organizations are prevented from reaching people in need; when civilians were bombarded from North to South; it is more important than ever to heed the calls made over the past seven months: Release the hostages. Agree to ceasefire. Let’s end this nightmare.”
Fuel shortage at Gaza hospital puts newborn babies at risk
Aid organizations delivered about 15,000 liters of fuel to Al Aqsa Hospital in Gaza, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office, OCHAreported on Friday.
UN children’s agency UNICEF warned that oxygen generators at the hospital would stop working without a continuous supply of fuel, putting the lives of more than 20 newborns at risk.
“It is vital that more fuel gets into Gaza and that humanitarian organizations can operate safely as hostilities increase,” OCHA said. speak.
Meanwhile, only one hospital in northern Gaza, Al Awda, remains partially operational but inaccessible.
Gaza’s remaining medical facilities are struggling to operate amid shortages of fuel, equipment and medical supplies.
The flow of aid into the area has been extremely limited since the Israeli army began its offensive into Rafah province nearly three weeks ago.
Just over 900 aid trucks, including about 800 carrying food, have entered Gaza since then.
A malnourished child is treated at Hôpital Justinien University in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
Half of Haiti could be hungry by June
The number of people in Haiti facing severe food insecurity could reach a record 5 million, or half the population, by the end of June.
OCHA said staple food prices remain high in the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas amid an already dire food security situation and widespread gang violence.
In mid-April, food basket prices in Ouest Department, where Port-au-Prince is located, were 20% higher than in January.
The situation has not improved since then, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), noted the resurgence of gang-related violence has put pressure on prices due to scarcity of essential products.
If domestic agricultural production does not improve and insecurity continues, prices of staple foods are likely to remain high for the remainder of this year.
Since the beginning of March, the World Food Program (WFP) provided hot meals to nearly 100,000 displaced people at 80 locations across the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
