A press release by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) dated 22 March 2006 highlighting that:
- Karni crossing has re-opened but is not fully operating, therefore not letting sufficient food aid in
- There is a lack of fuel to distribute the food that comes in
As a reminder, here are some data which I had already typed down in my January 27th posting:
- More than 1.4 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip.
- 90% of the population are refugees.
- Some 65 to 75 per cent of Gazans are impoverished (compared to 30 per cent in 2000); many are hungry.
- About 42 per cent of Gazans are categorised by the World Food Programme (WFP) as 'food insecure'; in five areas of Gaza, the figure exceeds 50 per cent. An additional 30 per cent of the population is 'food vulnerable', i.e. under threat of becoming food insecure or malnourished.
- According to the World Bank, Palestinians are currently experiencing the worst economic depression in modern history, caused primarily by the long-standing Israeli restrictions that have dramatically reduced Gaza's levels of trade and virtually cut off its labour force from their jobs inside Israel.
