After months of bombardment, northern Gaza is in ruins.
United Nations humanitarians today re-emphasize the continuing devastating impact of the war in Gaza and the need to ensure reliable access to those in need in the region.
"One third of the families here have children under the age of five," said Matthew Hollingworth, the World Food Programme's country director for Palestine Refugees, at a school run by the United Nations Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA. ”
"Even though they need cleaner water and a more stable life, they also need to go to school," he said. They need a normal life. ”
UNRWA stated that it had been attacked more than 360 times since the beginning of the war. Critical infrastructure was affected, including the Agency's wells in Khan Younis city.
The agency says that for the precious water to be up and running again, countless tons of rubble need to be removed. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) found that the rubble contained large quantities of hazardous materials and shrapnel. This means that it cannot be cleaned up with a bulldozer, but needs to be done safely piece by piece.
Seek refuge at school
While there remains deep concern about a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah, WFP noted that United Nations aid agencies have successfully worked with international and local relief partners to provide life-saving assistance further north.
The agency said the recipients received aid items included food and special nutritional supplements for infants and young children to ensure their healthy growth.
Access to aid continues to suffer
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that on Monday, Israeli authorities blocked or excessively delayed three-quarters of the United Nations planned aid delivery.
One of the transport operations to northern Gaza was approved after lengthy coordination with Israeli authorities, but was forced to wait for more than nine hours before departure, on the way north and back to Rafah, the agency said.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that the delays endangered both the humanitarian mission and the humanitarian workers themselves, as fighting between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces often took place near checkpoints.
OCHA also reported that, upon return, staff collected the body of a boy who had apparently been killed near the checkpoint.
West Bank destruction operations
At the same time, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released new data from the West Bank, showing that Palestinian home demolitions and displacement continue unabated.
As of April 22, more than 380 buildings had been demolished in the West Bank, leaving 650 people homeless, according to the latest data.
If the destruction continues at this rate, a record 1,500 properties will face being razed by the end of the year, the highest number since OCHA began compiling data in 2009.
Jerusalem was the most devastated, with 80 buildings destroyed and 115 people displaced.
The casualty toll continues to climb
At least 34,568 Palestinians have been killed and 77,765 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October, according to the latest information from Gaza's health authorities.
Some 1,250 Israelis and people of other nationalities were killed in Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel, and more than 250 were taken hostage. Dozens of people are still believed to be being held in Gaza.
New York protesters were cleared
Hundreds of police officers reportedly cleared hundreds of people who had participated in pro-Palestinian protests from the protest site at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday night.
With the permission of university authorities, police dispersed demonstrators who had set up a barrier inside a building on campus, while there were reports of major clashes between opposing demonstrators on the UCLA campus at night.
Hours before that, the UN human rights chief Türk had warned some US universities not to take any "tough measures" when dealing with protests in the Gaza war.
The president of Columbia University announced that the dialogue with the protesters had failed and that the university would not bow to the demand that the university not have any economic ties with Israel.
