UN agencies press Israel to allow food aid to north Gaza, warn of famine [Video]

The U.N. humanitarian office called on Tuesday for Israel to revoke an apparent ban on food deliveries to northern Gaza from the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying people there were facing a “cruel death by famine”.

Israel said on Monday it would stop working with UNRWA in Gaza, accusing the aid agency of perpetuating conflict. The agency said Israel told it that it would no longer approve its food convoys to north Gaza. Four such requests were denied since March 21, it said.

“The decision must be revoked,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told a U.N. briefing in Geneva. “You cannot claim to adhere to these international provisions of law when you block UNRWA food convoys.”

UNRWA, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused a dozen of its staff of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas …