After Hamas was reportedly refused to accept plans to continue phase one of the fragile ceasefires, Israel’s move to prevent all aid from entering the Gaza Strip had immediate impact, including a 100-fold increase in flour and vegetables prices.
This said on Monday that the cross closure of Kelem Shalom, Erez and Jikim would not reach civilians in need, including thousands of tents.
Phase 1 of the Egypt, Qatar and the US-born ceasefire will expire on Saturday, with Hamas calling on Israel to move on to the next agreed phase, but Israel instead asks for phase 1 to continue until the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The January ceasefire contract announced 33 Israeli hostages who had been taken prisoner since the terrorist attack on October 7th, and exchanged about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
“The ceasefire provides the opportunity to distribute food, water, provide shelter support and medical assistance, allowing almost everyone in Gaza to receive food parcels,” said Stephen Dujarik, a spokesman for the UN, a New York briefing reporter.
“Our humanitarian partners say the prices of flour and vegetables have risen more than 100 times after the intersection was closed to Gaza. The partners are currently assessing the stocks available now,” he added.