Roundup: Limited aid access worsens hunger crisis in Gaza -- UN

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Despite commercial goods entering Gaza, limited aid access contributes to a deepening starvation and malnutrition crisis, especially among children, said UN humanitarians on Thursday.

"UN partners working in nutrition report that acute malnutrition among children in Gaza has reached the highest levels recorded to date," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The office said that in July alone, nearly 12,000 young children were identified as acutely malnourished out of 136,000 screened. Among them, over 2,500 children suffered from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form. Forty children required hospitalization.

OCHA said that in June and July, 18 percent of all acutely malnourished children had severe acute malnutrition, compared with 12 percent between March and May.

UN partners report that the overall volume of nutritional supplies entering Gaza remains far below what is needed to prevent the further deterioration of the nutritional situation.

OCHA said that several commercial trucks carrying food items entering Gaza over the past few days have contributed to a variety of food returning to markets and a slight decrease in prices. But the world body and its partners said they need unimpeded and predictable humanitarian access into and within Gaza, in parallel with the flow of commercial goods.

It added that existing stocks of shelter material are fully depleted, and the shelter crisis continues to worsen. Most families in Gaza are living in severely overcrowded, unsafe and undignified conditions, some with no shelter at all.

"Overall, since the Israeli announcement of the tactical pause to allow safe passages for our convoys, our colleagues tell us that realities on the ground remain largely the same," OCHA said. "Aid that has entered remains by far insufficient and our convoys continue to face impediments on their way to delivering aid."

The office said that while fewer humanitarian movements have been denied outright, approved missions still take hours to complete. Some of the missions take more than 18 hours, and teams are often compelled to wait on roads that are dangerous, congested or impassable.

It also noted that although limited quantities of fuel have been allowed to enter Gaza over the past week, fuel supplies remain critically limited and unpredictable, significantly undermining the ability of humanitarian partners to deliver and sustain lifesaving services. ■