{"id":249465,"date":"2023-12-04T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=249465"},"modified":"2023-12-01T05:07:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T05:07:13","slug":"palestine-israel-crisis-gaza-city-a-ghost-town-reports-un-aid-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/12\/palestine-israel-crisis-gaza-city-a-ghost-town-reports-un-aid-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestine-Israel Crisis: Gaza City a \u2018Ghost Town\u2019, Reports UN Aid Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scenes of devastation in Gaza City’s Nasr neighbourhood – \u00a9 UNICEF\/Mohammad Ajjour<\/p><\/div>\n

29 Nov 2023 – <\/span>\u00a0Amid hopes of a deal to extend the pause in fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas today, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported that humanitarian assistance had reached its shelters in northern Gaza for first time since war erupted last month.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAs we drove through Gaza City it was like a ghost town; all the streets were deserted,\u201d said Thomas White, Director of UNRWA<\/a> Affairs in Gaza. \u201cThe impact of heavy airstrikes and shelling was so visible. Roads are riddled with craters, complicating aid deliveries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Truce deadline looms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Wednesday marks the sixth and final day of a truce between Hamas and Israel that was facilitated by Qatar. Humanitarians have urged the warring sides to support repeated international calls to extend the pause in fighting, which has facilitated the reported release of at least 85 hostages by Hamas, and of more than 180 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.<\/p>\n

The pause has also enabled humanitarian actors, primarily the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies and UN agencies, to \u201cenhance\u201d desperately needed aid deliveries into and across Gaza,\u00a0according<\/a> to aid coordination office, OCHA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The UN office\u2019s latest aid update noted that a Palestine Red Crescent Society convoy had reached the north on Tuesday carrying food, medical supplies, water, and non-food items, although the bulk of aid distribution has focused on the south, where most displaced Gazans now live.<\/p>\n

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"There are remarkable stories of courageous colleagues staying & serving their communities" @TomWhiteGaza<\/a><\/p>\n

Humanitarian assistance reaches @UNRWA<\/a> shelters in northern\ud83d\udccd#Gaza<\/a> for first time since war began: "It\u2019s heart-wrenching"<\/p>\n

Statement \u2b07\ufe0f #UNRWAworks<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/Gvjc6f81d5<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QQ7luVMbVb<\/a><\/p>\n

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n