UN says will ‘take some time’ to scale back Gaza famine

Trucks carrying aid provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) wait at the Kissufim crossing, located east of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (AFP)

• The UN’s World Food Programme said it had been able to move close to 3,000 tons of food supplies into the war-shattered Palestinian territory since the US brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold
• The spokeswoman said 57 trucks in two convoys, carrying wheat flour and nutrition supplies, crossed in on Thursday and reached WFP’s warehouses intact, ready for distribution

GENEVA: The United Nations cautioned Friday it would take time to reverse the famine in the Gaza Strip, saying all crossings needed to be opened to “flood Gaza with food.”
The UN’s World Food Programme said it had been able to move close to 3,000 tons of food supplies into the war-shattered Palestinian territory since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold.
“It’s going to take some time to scale back the famine” declared by the UN in late August, WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told a media briefing in Geneva.
“The ceasefire has opened a narrow window of opportunity. WFP is moving very quickly and swiftly to scale up food assistance and reach families who have endured months of blockade, displacement and hunger.”
Etefa said WFP had five food distribution points up and running across the Gaza Strip, mostly in the south, but wanted to get to 145.
She said the WFP had been able to use the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings in recent days.
From Saturday until Wednesday, around 230 trucks with 2,800 tons of food supplies crossed into Gaza, said Etefa.
The spokeswoman said 57 trucks in two convoys, carrying wheat flour and nutrition supplies, crossed in on Thursday and reached WFP’s warehouses intact, ready for distribution.
“We’re still below what we need but we’re getting there,” she said.
As of Wednesday, nine bakeries were running, with WFP working on getting 30 going throughout the Gaza Strip.
“Bread is extremely important. The smell of fresh bread in Gaza is more than nourishment: it’s a signal that life is returning,” said Etefa.
She called for all land crossings into the Palestinian territory to be opened up “so that we can flood Gaza with food supplies.”
“The faster we can move aid in, the more lives we can reach quickly,” she added.
WFP is starting its distribution of nutrition supplies in Gaza City.
“We are trying to push back on famine, especially for families returning home in the north of Gaza,” said Etefa.
WFP’s plan is to scale up to reach 1.6 million people inside Gaza over the next three months.