UN Agency: If Israel doesn't supply fuel, food distribution will stop

Thursday April 24, 2008 07:00 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The head of the United Nations Refugee Works Agency commented on Wednesday that the Agency's food distribution program in the Gaza Strip will have to be halted unless Israel supplies fuel to the Gaza Strip immediately.

John Ging, the chief of the U.N. Refugee and Works Agency in Gaza, stated that the Agency's fuel supply will run out on Thursday, and they will be unable to deliver needed food supplies to the 860,000 registered refugees in need.

860,000 of Gaza's 1.4 million people receive aid from UNWRA, and an additional 270,000 are serviced by the U.N.'s World Food Program.

Since Israel put the Gaza Strip under siege last year, completely sealing the borders of the occupied territory, the Israeli government has allowed just a trickle of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip.  Since April 9th, that trickle has stopped completely, and any fuel that may have been available in the Strip has been completely used up.

Israel has made no commitment as to when or whether it will allow fuel shipments through the sealed border.

gaza strip | human rights | news report saed at imemc dot org