"The situation in Gaza is one of growing misery," the top United Nations official in the  war‑torn territory said today, telling reporters it was "shameful" that Israeli politics had  stranded tons of relief supplies at blocked crossing points and, in the latest blow to the  beleaguered recovery effort, armed Hamas police had broken into a warehouse and seized  thousands of blankets and food packs meant for needy Gaza residents.
 
Nearly three weeks after an unwritten ceasefire ended fighting between Israel and Hamas in  the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the  Near East (UNRWA) was struggling to cope with a daunting range of operational challenges.  Speaking to reporters at Headquarters via video link, John Ging, UNRWA’s Director of  Operations in Gaza, said that the situation was becoming increasingly untenable -- basic  humanitarian needs were going unmet, people stuck for hours at aid distribution points were  becoming frustrated and, as a result, extremism was on the rise. At the same time, Hamas  militants were waging a damaging public misinformation campaign about the Agency’s work.

Clearly frustrated, Mr. Ging said: "There’s no reason to talk about recovery and  reconstruction here until we get this business with the crossing sorted out. Let’s not talk  about it. It’s […] disingenuous even to consider it." Israel was refusing to allow into the  area not only basic necessities -- the Agency expected to run out of the plastic bags it  needed to pre‑package relief supplies by Sunday -- but textbooks and other materials to  jumpstart UNRWA’s human rights curriculum. "We are having no success at the operation level  [and that] is feeding the despair and frustration of the people," he said.

He frankly could not understand why the flow of basic necessities, building materials and  school supplies was being obstructed. "It’s beyond comprehension. I need these questions  answered simply," he continued, saying he was tired of hearing the same "circular argument  rationalized by political analysis" about who might get access to this or that. The  politicians were not paying the price. Students and ordinary people were being hurt,  because they were being denied access to educational materials and basic necessities.  Everyone knew that all this would lead to more desperation, more anger and more violence.

Thousands of tons of aid were stuck outside Gaza, at staging areas in Egypt, Israel and  Jordan. Humanitarian agencies were left trying to push supplies "through the eye of a  needle" at Kerem Shalom crossing, which was totally inadequate to handle the volume needed,  but currently the only point open for bringing in food, clothes and medicine. "The bottom  line is, we’re neither getting in the volume nor the range of supplies that we need here  and this is, of course, creating a lot of misery among the people, so many of whom […] were  still without blankets and clothes and very basic items," he said.

For example, Mr. Ging said UNRWA was caring for some 900,000 food‑aid recipients, but had  been able to get supplies out only at a rate of about 30,000 people a day. "That just gives  a sense of how long a wait it will be for those at the end of the queue," he said,  stressing: "We have the infrastructure. We have the staff. We just can’t get the food. It’s  quite shameful to have such a backlog."

He went on to say that, while he and his staff had worked diligently to get United Nations -affiliated schools up and running as soon as possible after the fighting stopped -- UNRWA  had merely been able to clean them up and make them safe because no cement or other  construction materials were being allowed into the city -- since then, 60 per cent of the  students had returned to classrooms that had no textbooks, notebooks, supplies or even  writing paper. Those items were being denied entry into Gaza at the moment. "We are being  obstructed, as far as I’m concerned, in the education of the children here," he said.

Responding to questions about the blocked borders and shipping delays, Mr. Ging said Israel  was taking those measures and he believed those decisions were "purely political". For  example, he said that the Sufa crossing point in southern Israel had remained open during  much of Israel’s 18‑month blockade of Gaza; yet, it wasn’t open today. That being the case,  the decision to shut it down appeared to be a political one. Granted, Sufa wasn’t the most  optimal location, but if it were open, it would nearly double the number of relief trucks  UNRWA could get in, he added.

Continuing, he said that, when plastic bags ran out, there was no back up. Everyone  involved was aware that UNRWA needed raw materials on site to make the huge quantity of  bags required to pre-wrap packages of relief supplies. Israel had suggested bringing in  shipments of plastic bags, but that was ridiculous, because that would require a large  number of trucks and only add to the already clogged delivery pipeline.

"So, there is no excuse. Everyone needs to be clear about the consequences of these  decisions," he continued, citing not only the serious humanitarian impact, but also their  effect on the mood of the people of Gaza. "Extremism is on the rise here in Gaza and we on  the ground are trying to counter it, particularly with our education programmes," he  declared, but warned that trying to ensure Palestinian children were able to build a  positive future required adequate tools. "So it continues to be all about the crossings;  all about access."

On the Hamas police force that had raided a warehouse and stolen relief goods at gunpoint  yesterday, Mr. Ging acknowledged that such incidents were only making matters worse. Many  members of the militant group were disconnected from their leadership, which remained  underground since the Israeli offensive. However, those that were above ground remained  bent on destructive and disruptive behaviour.

He told reporters that UNRWA had expressed its outrage at the incident and was remaining  vigilant. "We’re not bringing aid in to have it stolen by anybody. We’re bringing it in to  help refugees according to our criteria," he said, adding that the Agency was looking to  Hamas’ so‑called leadership to get the organization under control "because the reckless acts  of a few are jeopardizing our entire operation".

UNRWA did not know what had happened to the stolen food and blankets, but Mr. Ging  sincerely hoped Hamas had the goods intact "because we want them back". While the amount  stolen was small, and while it was the first time an event such as this had occurred, it  was massive in significance because Hamas had "crossed a red line". UNRWA would not take  seriously any commitments Hamas gave regarding future action until they first and foremost  returned the aid that they had stolen and secondly made public their assurances that it  would not happen again.

"I don’t care for the nonsense they’ve been coming out with trying to justify what they did  […] their reaction and the way they are spinning this for the public," he continued. At the  same time, however, he was pleased that ordinary Gazans and community leaders had been  equally shocked and outraged by the incident and had bolstered their support for the  Agency.

Uruknet


UNRWA Official Homepage


Al Jazeera's Mike Kirsch, reporting from Gaza City, writes:

"Hamas officials are saying this whole thing is just a big  misunderstanding.

"They are saying that the 10 trucks that were intercepted ... they believed was aid coming  from Hamas, from the ministry of social affairs, that was on the Israeli border, in effect  that the trucks got mixed up with the UN trucks.

"And what has since happened is that Hamas has received documentation from the UN that  verifies that these trucks belonged to the UN and Hamas is now saying these trucks will be  returned on Saturday."