JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - A top official of the World Food Program has called on Israeli authorities to open all border crossing points to enable UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food and to contain the spread of famine.
Abeer Etefa, Senior Regional Communications Officer for the World Food Program, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that since the ceasefire took hold on October 11, the agency has been able to bring in more than 6,700 metric tons of food - enough for close to half a million people for two weeks.
'Daily deliveries continue and they are now averaging around 750 tons,' Etefa said. 'That's much better than what we had before the ceasefire, but it's still well below our target, which is around 2,000 tons every day.'
The WFP spokesperson explained that unless all border crossing points can be used, reaching this target is 'almost impossible.'
Currently, only the crossings at Kerem Shalom and Kissufim in the south are open, and the 'severe amount of destruction' impedes access from the south to the north - where famine was declared in August.
'We need Erez, we need Zikkim, we need these border crossing points to open,' Etefa insisted.
Reaching northern Gaza with large-scale convoys is a priority, she said.
'We've cleared the roads at scale into the north,' removing the debris from the border crossing points to be able to connect to Gaza City where the situation is particularly dire, she added.
'But we need these crossings to open so that we're able to get large-scale convoys.'
The agency has started restoring its food distribution system, with a goal of scaling assistance through 145 distribution points across the Strip. Some 26 distribution points have already been reinstated.
'The response has been really overwhelming,' Etefa said, describing people's reactions to the food distributions. 'People are showing up in large numbers, grateful for the efficiency of the delivery of food assistance' as well as the 'dignified way' in which they are able to stand in line and quickly obtain their food rations.
WFP is supporting the most food insecure people with digital payments which have so far allowed some 140,000 people to buy food on local markets, the goal being to double the program in the coming weeks.
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