UN agency says Israel still preventing aid from reaching northern Gaza

PHOTO CAPTION: Israeli troops are seen scouting the Gaza border, Dec. 4, 2015. (Israeli Defense Forces photo via Flickr)

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli authorities are still preventing humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies including medicine and food for people under siege, the head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Monday.

Hospitals have been hit and are without power while injured people are left without care, Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

"@UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets. According to reports, people attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied," he added.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the UNRWA statement.

Israel says it is getting large quantities of humanitarian supplies into Gaza with land deliveries, including one on Monday morning, and airdrops. It also says it has facilitated the evacuation of patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

"Humanitarian agencies including @UNRWA must get access to north Gaza. Denying & weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is," Lazzarini said.

He said assistance must reach everyone in need in the Palestinian enclave, including children and Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants.

"A ceasefire is the beginning of putting an end to this endless nightmare," he added.

Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza, especially inside Jabalia, the largest of the enclave's eight historic camps, over two weeks ago, with the declared aim of preventing Hamas fighters from regrouping.



(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)