World Food Program: Almost no more aid in Gaza
The people in the Gaza Strip are in urgent need of humanitarian aid - which is being provided by the United Nations World Food Program. But this is becoming increasingly difficult. The head of the Berlin office explains in Dubai how difficult the situation is.
According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), it is almost no longer able to provide humanitarian aid to the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. "It's a drop in the ocean," said Martin Frick, head of the program's Berlin office, in Dubai, where it operates a warehouse, a global hub, for Gaza aid. According to him, a total of just over 1,800 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7. "In peacetime, that was 10,000 per month," he said.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) visited the UN warehouse accompanied by journalists on the fringes of her visit to the UN Climate Change Conference. Frick went on to say that the Gaza Strip had been lacking all the essentials for weeks: food, water, medicine and medical care. "It really is a humanitarian catastrophe what is happening there. And if this continues, hunger will of course be one of the biggest dangers."
When asked whether the Islamist Hamas, which is being fought by Israel, is not also benefiting from the aid, Frick said: "The UN has been working in the Gaza Strip for over 60 years. We have very robust systems, so we know that our aid is actually getting to the people who need it most. We are very well informed." At the moment, trucks with aid are still being delivered to the Gaza Strip, but distributing the goods is extremely difficult. "And I also remember that we have already lost over 100 colleagues in this war."
There are also difficulties with communication on the ground. "When the power goes out, mobile communication also goes out. I can only say that the people who work for us in the Gaza Strip are really risking their lives to distribute food there." According to him, the UN food program is currently mainly delivering things that can be eaten immediately - such as energy bars or canned fish. "Because it makes no sense to deliver food that has to be cooked first in an area where there is no fuel at all."
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The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) faces challenges in delivering aid to the Gaza Strip, a region controlled by the Gaza Strip, as the number of trucks entering since the conflict began on October 7 has only reached 1,800, significantly less than the 10,000 per month in peacetime. The WFP is primarily distributing immediate consumption items like energy bars and canned fish due to the absence of fuel for cooking.
Recent tensions between Israel and the Islamist Hamas governing the Gaza Strip have raised concerns about the misuse of humanitarian aid. However, Martin Frick, head of the WFP's Berlin office, maintains that their aid distribution systems are robust, ensuring that it reaches those in direst need.
Source: www.ntv.de
