125 US Congressmen Call for Ceasefire in Gaza and Delivery of Humanitarian Aid.
Democrats also called on Rubio to show US leadership in efforts to provide food and basic needs to Palestinian civilians.
The UN spokesman earlier reiterated that more crossings must be opened to allow unhindered humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Aziz-Haq told reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Friday that only two Gaza crossings, al-Kararah (also known as Kissufim) and Karm Abu Salem (Kerm Shalom), are currently operational.
The UN spokesman continued: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Gaza says that despite significant progress in increasing humanitarian assistance, the urgent needs of the people are still too great and the obstacles are not being lifted quickly enough.
“Since the ceasefire, the UN and our partners have collected more than 37,000 tonnes of aid, mainly food, from the Gaza crossings,” Haq said, adding that this is under the UN’s 2720 mechanism, which does not include bilateral aid or the commercial sector.
“Aid access remains limited to two crossings, with no direct access from Israel to northern Gaza or from Egypt to southern Gaza,” the UN deputy spokesperson said. “This is in addition to specific items and the denial of entry to NGO staff.”
“Most of the displaced are in crowded temporary shelters, many of which have been set up in open or insecure areas, and hundreds of thousands of families are facing extreme weather and cold conditions,” he added.
“Since the ceasefire, the World Food Programme has assisted more than one million people with food distributions, hot meals, support for bakeries, children’s snacks, expanded nutrition services and cash assistance,” Haq said.
The UN spokesman continued: “Local food production remains difficult, as many fields have been damaged and the soil in many areas has been contaminated by the war. Only 13 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land remains intact, and most of that is in areas where Israeli forces are still stationed,” the UN spokesman said. This is according to a recent analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT).
Between 79 and 89 percent of greenhouses, agricultural wells, and agricultural infrastructure have been damaged. Nearly 89 percent of orchard trees, especially olive trees, have also been damaged or, in most cases, destroyed.
The UN spokesman added: “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased significantly in number and intensity.” He added: “Last month, OCHA recorded 264 settler attacks that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both, the highest monthly figure in nearly 20 years, or an average of more than eight attacks per day.”