Matthew Hollingsworth, WFP Country Director in Palestine, warned that with limited access to the south “we will no doubt see what we saw happen in the north in the first months of the war”.
Matthew Hollingworth, World Food Program (WFP) Country Director in Palestine
Immense needs
Meanwhile, humanitarians have seen ever-decreasing amounts of assistance coming in, and WFP bakeries in Rafah have closed due to lack of fuel and supplies
He said that from 7 to 20 May, none of its trucks crossed from the southern corridors from Egypt.
WFP has been unable to access its main warehouse for the south because it was in an evacuation zone and the 2,700 tonnes of food inside was either looted or destroyed in the fighting.
“We are living and working precariously in the south,” he said, adding that some aid partners are able to provide hot meals in Rafah.
“We serve around 27,000 people right now, but that’s not enough in Rafah itself, and we’re trying desperately hard to gear up to support people in the central areas, in Al Mawasi in particular, where almost a million people have fled to in this great exodus.”
WFP and partners are able to provide roughly 400,000 hot meals a day to people in the Middle Area of Gaza, but again supplies are limited.
Situation in the north
Mr. Hollingsworth also addressed the situation in north Gaza, which he said has improved following the opening of two crossings. UN agencies had previously warned of looming famine in the region.
“We’re actually seeing the results of what can happen when there is a will to enable sufficient levels of aid,” he said.
Roughly 12,000 tonnes of inter-agency aid, mostly food, have entered since 1 May, “and the north looks very different because of it.”
The WFP official stressed the need for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages, noting that previous calls to action have gone unheard.
“We are tired. People are tired. We desperately need to start helping people go beyond this day-to-day existence and scraping for an existence. And to do that, there has to be a ceasefire,” he said.