Gaza: Food access improves in the south but food convoys fail to reach north directly

One in two households surveyed reported better access because of increasing commercial and aid deliveries.

OCHA warned however that no food aid convoy has reached the north via any direct crossings since 12 September.

Despite ongoing dire conditions in northern Gaza, the UN agency said that around 90 per cent of the estimated 29,000 people who moved inside the Strip at the weekend were travelling from the south to the north.

Trucks and supplies

The UN and partners on Saturday collected nearly 200 truckloads of essential supplies from Israeli crossings along the perimeter fence that encircles Gaza.

Among the supplies were nearly 1,900 metric tonnes of different food items, wheat flour and over 100 pallets of food boxes.

The supplies also included over 1,000 pallets of mattresses, blankets, tents, tarpaulins and winter clothes; 300 pallets full of hygiene kits, buckets, water containers, and jerry cans; 50 pallets of fortified cereals; and some 200 pallets of dignity kits, menstrual health kits, and midwifery supplies.

On Sunday – based on initial data – UN teams collected nearly 1,000 pallets of blankets, tents, hygiene kits, water tanks, mats, winter clothes, tarpaulins and jerry cans, alongside one truckload of animal fodder.

“All of this data is preliminary, and it covers the UN and our partners but does not include bilateral donations and the commercial sector,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Monday.

Meals and nutrition

The UN and partners are supporting 17 bakeries in Gaza – nine in the south and eight in the north – which produce 150,000 bread bundles every day, according to latest figures.

“We’re also supporting 180 kitchens serving nearly 1,160,000 meals every day,” Mr. Haq continued. “On the nutrition front, we are currently supporting 133 treatment sites, including 20 in Gaza City, where famine was confirmed in August.”

On Saturday and Sunday, teams also delivered 1,000 tarpaulins and 2,500 blankets to people in need.

Since the ceasefire, the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has supported an estimated 90,000 women and girls with reproductive health and hygiene items.

Incubators

This includes the distribution of medical equipment and supplies to 13 health facilities across the Strip, including incubators and surgery equipment, Mr. Haq said

UNFPA has also distributed thousands of post-partum kits and dignity kits to women and girls.

Meanwhile, renovation is ongoing in four schools, and, over the past three days, the UN and our partners have supported the reopening of five temporary learning spaces in Gaza City.