Jan Egeland - General Secretary of the Norwegian Relief Organization (NRC) - told the press that there are no tents, food or relief supplies in their warehouses. We have distributed the last tent, the last food and all the last relief supplies, he stressed. There's nothing left."
The NRC accused Israel of paralyzing relief work in Gaza. In the past 145 days, this organization has not been able to bring hundreds of trucks carrying tents, clean water, food, sanitation and educational equipment to this area.
Mr. Egeland said that the trucks are stuck in warehouses or in Egypt, causing great damage to European sponsors but still unable to move them to where they need them. Israel did not give up. They want to paralyze our work," he said.
The NRC's comments also coincide with information from the head of the Palestine Relief Agency (UNRWA) saying that their staff have even fainted while working due to fatigue and hunger.
Currently, NRC has 64 Palestinian staff and 2 international staff working in Gaza. On July 21, 33 staff were evacuated from the Deir al Balah area after a warning from Israel. The organization also warned that safe drinking water sources are depleted due to lack of fuel for desaltation plants. In the past few weeks, clean water has only reached about 100,000 people in the central and northern Gaza region.
According to an Israeli official, about 500,000 liters of fuel have been licensed for the United Nations. However, the UN could take in more, and the two sides are still negotiating, the official said. About 700 trucks containing undistributed aid are located in the Kerem Shalom border gate area.
