2024-05-01 15:05:40
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Israel
– 2024-04-08 15:31:48″>UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Tuesday that trucks that “transport bodies and detainees” from Israel to Gaza through the main Kerem Shalom crossing are “impeding the arrival of aid.”
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza has increased pressure on Israel to enhance supplies to the Strip to limit the spread of diseases and hunger among 1.7 million people who were displaced due to the war between Israel and Hamas, amid warnings from the United Nations of the possibility of famine in Gaza.
Lazzarini told reporters on Tuesday that “aid supplies to Gaza improved in April,” but listed a list of difficulties that included frequent closure of the crossings, because the Israelis “dispose of released detainees or sometimes throw away bodies that are transported to Israel and returned to Israel.” Gaza Strip,” according to Reuters.
In response to a question requesting other details, UNRWA spokeswoman Juliet Touma said, “Israel has sent 225 bodies to Gaza in 3 containers since December, and the agency transferred them to the local health authorities for burial, which led to the temporary closure of the crossing.”
Touma did not have details about the circumstances of their deaths, and she said that the investigation “is not within the jurisdiction of UNRWA.”
Regarding the transfer of detainees, which Reuters previously reported on, Touma said that they were “transferred between Israel and Gaza dozens of times.”
The Coordination Unit of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories, the Israeli military body responsible for distributing aid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva referred questions regarding transfers to Jerusalem.
Regarding the delivery of aid, the spokesman said: “Lazzarini is trying to evade UNRWA’s failures and responsibilities. Today again, there was a backlog of more than 150 trucks that Israel inspected in Kerem Shalom and that were not received by UN agencies.”
Tensions are escalating between Israel and UNRWA, as Israel accused 19 of the agency’s employees of participating in the October 7 attacks, which prompted Israel to launch a military campaign in Gaza.
UN investigators are investigating Israel’s allegations, although a separate review found that Israel “has not yet provided evidence” to substantiate accusations that hundreds of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist groups.
Kerem Shalom is one of only two crossings that the United Nations says are currently open between Gaza and its neighbors Egypt and Israel.
The Palestinian authorities said earlier that Israel “returned bodies from the conflict between Israel and Hamas after ensuring that they were not hostages.” For its part, Israel said that it was “trying to find out the identities of the bodies and where they were killed.”
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2024-05-01 15:05:40