The United Nations (UN) announced on Tuesday that food supplies have run out in Rafah, a city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip which is currently a focal point of a potential new Israeli military operation.
According to reports, the UN cited insecurity and the lack of supplies as reasons for halting food distribution.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary organization providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza, stated that food distribution in the area has been suspended.
“Food distributions in Rafah, southern Gaza, are currently suspended due to lack of supplies and insecurity,” UNRWA said in a social media post on Tuesday.
UNRWA also noted that due to the ongoing Israeli military operation in eastern Rafah, both the agency’s distribution center and the World Food Programme’s (WFP) facility are “inaccessible.”
The UN further reported that no aid trucks have been able to enter the area using the newly-built pier, a project led by the U.S.
An estimated 800,000 people have been displaced from Rafah in the past two weeks, according to a UN official.
The crisis has deepened since Israel launched its military operation into Rafah on May 6, capturing the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, which has remained closed.
The UN warned that approximately 1.1 million people in Gaza are on the verge of starvation.
The U.S. has cautioned Israel against invading Rafah without a well-developed plan to ensure the safety of civilians in the area.
