Israel claims that there's no food shortage happening in the Gaza Strip, rejecting the claims made by the United Nations and aid agencies regarding famine in the Palestinian city.
An elderly Palestinian woman waits to receive food aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the refugee camp of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 25, 2010.
Recently, UN agencies urged more humanitarian assistance in Gaza as they claim that Palestinian leaders are reporting the rising death toll in the territory.
Because of this, UN officials believe that there are "pockets of famine" existing in the Gaza City. But, was denied by the Israeli army unit leader.
Israel Claims No Food Shortage in Gaza
According to Fox News' latest report, the Israeli army unit head, who is responsible for handling massive international humanitarian aid operations in Gaza City, said that the claims of UN agencies regarding starvation are not true.
Col. Moshe Tetro, the Coordination and Liaison Administration head, clarified that there are no restrictions on food going into the Palestinian territory.
For those who are not familiar with CLA, it is the military division tasked with overseeing Palestinian imports and exports to Israel and beyond. CLA was also the one facilitating entry permits for Palestinian civilians and laborers.
As of writing, CLA is handling the distribution of food, water, fuel, and other needed supplies that enter Gaza. Tetro explained that before claiming that famine is happening in the Palestinian city, it is important to look at the data.
He said that before the war between Israel and Hamas officially began, only 70 food trucks entered the Gaza Strip daily. Now, he claims that these food aid trucks nearly increased by twofolds; with around 220 vehicles carrying food supplies entering Gaza each day for the past week.
"If you open Telegram and other social media pages, take a look at the marketplace in Rafah last Friday - you will see that while many things are missing, there is no shortage of food," said the CLA leader.
"I recommend to anyone writing about this to base their words on the facts and not on the basis of political agendas," he added.
Read Also: Netanyahu Rejects Proposal To End War With Hamas Despite US Effort for Two-State Solution
What UN Agencies Claim
Palestinians whose houses were destroyed during Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip, receive food donations for Ramadan's daily iftar meal at Ezbet Abd Rabbo in Jabalia Refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on September 3, 2009.
After receiving death toll reports from Palestinian authorities, UN agencies Unicef, the World Health Organization, and the World Food Program said that new entry routes should be opened to Gaza, as reported by The Guardian.
They didn't directly blame the Israeli government for the starvation allegedly happening in the Palestinian city. But, they believe that food and other supplies are not being delivered because there are too few border crossings from Israel.
Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that the great majority of Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of starving "are actually in famine, not just at risk of famine."
Related Article: UN Condemns Israel for 'Heartbreaking' Deaths in Gaza as Death Toll Surpasses 25,000
