Several United Nations agencies may be forced to cut back or end humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip because of Israeli restrictions on their movement into and out of the territory, a UN statement said Friday.
Most of the 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are at least partly dependent on aid handouts, and stopping shipments there would be a disaster.
Israel has prohibited vehicles belonging to the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from crossing the Erez checkpoint into Gaza for the last three weeks, the statement said, and staff must go through on foot. Food shipments through Karni, the only commercial crossing point in Gaza, have also been obstructed.
The restrictions appear to be part of stepped-up security in the West Bank and Gaza amid an Israeli offensive before a possible withdrawal from Gaza. Early Monday, Israel assassinated Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter missile strike.
Militants have also stepped up attacks on the Erez crossing point in recent months, leading to tighter restrictions there. In the latest attack on March 6, Palestinian gunmen and suicide car bombers staged an elaborate attack using vehicles altered to look like Israeli army jeeps. Four attackers and two Palestinian policemen were killed.
"There are some limits after which we cannot go further," said Jean-Marc Siblot, World Food Program chief for the Palestinian territories.
Siblot said UN staff must walk through the dangerous Erez Crossing, which can take more than four hours. Flatbed trucks that bring food into Gaza are sometimes not allowed to leave again, meaning agencies must pay fines for not returning them in time.
An Israeli army spokesman refused immediate comment on the agencies' claims.
Seven UN agencies are considering halting work. They are the World Food Program, the UN Development Program, the World Health Organization, the UN Relief and Works Agency, the UN Children's Fund, The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Special Coordinator's Office.
Siblot said World Food Program stocks in the Gaza Strip will last about 1 1/2 months if the situation doesn't change. The agency provides food to about 10 percent of Gaza's residents.
"If they don't receive this food then the problem for them will deteriorate extremely rapidly," Siblot said.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank remains dire, with high employment and widespread poverty. The Palestinian economy is totally dependent on international donors and the Palestinian Authority is running a budget deficit of US$30-40 million a month.
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