Israeli forces have The Rafah border crossing is completely closedbetween Egypt and the Gaza Strip, for the passage of people and any humanitarian aid after the Palestinian side took military control of this territory, Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, said today.

“Israel Defense Forces completely ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for civilians and for humanitarian operations throughout the Gaza Strip,” he condemned this blockade, which leaves the entire population of this Palestinian territory without access to the most necessary assistance for survival.

Until now, he entered through the Rafah checkpoint. most of the limited humanitarian aid that Israel has allowed since the war began last October.

The Kerem Shalom secondary crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, through which a small amount of humanitarian aid has flowed since December last year, was closed again a few days ago by Israel and it has not been reopened, despite the United States’ promise to do so.

“This means that the two main arteries for delivering aid to Gaza are now closed, which means that this morning, when this situation became known, it was “one of the darkest in the seven long months that this nightmare has lasted” – Laerke lamented.

Israeli authorities They also prevent UN humanitarian personnel from approaching the border crossing. coordinate the resumption of humanitarian movements.

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Restrictions imposed by Israel on the flow of humanitarian supplies that could enter Gaza are the reason that virtually all aid was distributed almost immediately upon arrival in the territory, and that no supplies of food, drinking water or fuel so that trucks can drive.

Without fuel, “trucks, generators (in hospitals and other essential places) and communications equipment are at risk. “Without diesel, everything stops working.”– explained the representative.

76% of the city of Rafah (southern tip of the Gaza Strip) included in the civilian evacuation zone by order of Israel and where there are also three medical centers and six humanitarian warehouses.

Laerke confirmed that over the past few hours The displaced population in Rafah reacted with panic and despair to a warning of an Israeli armed incursion that occurred overnight and again moved as far as the devastated north of Gaza.

The UN said it would try to find out from the Israeli authorities. if you also stopped at the Kerem Shalom checkpoint scans of trucks expected to deliver aid to Gaza in the coming hours and days at any of the entry points, including Erez in the north of the enclave, which is open to reduced aid for the hundreds of thousands of people remaining in Gaza. this Gaza strip.

(EFE)