UN's World Food Programme Stops Deliveries In North Gaza After Attacks On Crews

Adding to the woes of the people in Gaza, UN World Food Programme has decided to halt food distribution in Gaza following the recent attacks on crews.

Palestinian children wait in line to get food for their families.

The United Nations's World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Tuesday that it will pause its food distribution in northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave permit safe distribution. The agency said that the decision hasn’t been taken lightly as they are aware of what pausing these life-saving deliveries would mean.

"The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger," the Rome-based food agency, said in a statement, as per Reuters. The UN has been warning of looming famine in the north since December.

Crowds, Looting & Gunfire

According to a BBC report, the decision comes after the aid workers endured "complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order", the crews, reportedly, faced crowds, gunfire and looting.

On Sunday, the WFP had resumed food deliveries to the north after a suspension of three weeks following an attack on a UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) truck and "the absence of a functioning humanitarian notification system." A convoy of trucks started making its way towards Gaza City but came under attack from hungry crowds as they entered the city. The following day, WFP trucks were looted between Khan Younis in the south and Deir al Balah in central Gaza, and a driver was beaten.

Food Crisis Particularly Serious In The North

Israel, which began its offensive after the October 7 Hamas attack, had ordered 1.1 million Palestinian civilians to evacuate all areas north of Wadi Gaza and seek shelter in the south. While most residents followed the order, many either chose to stay or were unable to flee, as Israeli troops encircled the region.

In January, UNRWA said at least 300,000 people who had remained in northern Gaza depended on its assistance for their survival. Aid deliveries to the north have been scarce and dependent on security clearances from the Israeli military.

Three UN agencies - the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and the children's agency UNICEF - warned on Monday that food and safe water are "extremely scarce," and diseases are widespread in Gaza. This situation has led to a significant increase in acute malnutrition in Gaza more than four months after the Israel-Hamas conflict.