AP quoted Mr. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations, as saying on November 19: "According to the OCHA report, all UN efforts to assist people in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and some parts of Jalabiya are under Israeli siege, some are even rejected or obstructed."
As of November, OCHA reported that 27 of 31 planned humanitarian missions in northern Gaza had been rejected by Israel while the remaining four missions were severely hampered.
Earlier, on November 17, Mr. Dujarric said that the UN World Health Organization's efforts to provide 10,000 liters of fuel to Kamal Adwan Hospital and transfer 17 patients, 3 orphans and nearly 20 caregivers to Shifa Hospital in Gaza were unsuccessful.
Asked whether Israel was trying to force some 75,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south by denying aid, Dujarric said: “I cannot speak about the intentions of the Israeli government and Israeli policy. We are just seeing the results and trying to deal with them.”
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), of the aid delivered, only about half actually reaches Palestinians due to restrictions from the Israeli military.
In response to the allegations, the Israeli government said it has not limited the amount of aid entering Gaza and is working to increase it. Israel announced it had opened a new border crossing into central Gaza in November and reported that several dozen trucks had passed through it.
Aid flows are at near their lowest levels in the entire 13-month war.
