Date: 16 / 11 / 2008  Time:  13:57
Gaza – Ma’an –

The Gaza Strip will run out of basic supplies of food in the next few days if Israel or Egypt does not ease a strict eleven-day blockade of the territory, a senior Palestinian official warned on Sunday.

De facto Minister of National Economy Ziyad Thatha said, “There is a food and humanitarian crisis [in] the Gaza Strip where crossings have been closed for the eleventh day.

Israel invaded the Gaza Strip on 4 November, breaking a five-month –old ceasefire agreement and sparking renewed cross-border violence. Israel also sealed its borders with Gaza, blocking deliveries of basic good such as food and fuel.

The United Nation's relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was forced to suspend its food program on Friday after its trucks were turned away at the border. UNRWA is responsible for feeding 750,000 Gazans.

Thatha singled out Egypt, calling for the opening of the Rafah crossing following terms of the truce agreement which it brokered. He also urged Arab states to “stand by” Egypt in order to save Gaza from the current crisis.

He said “all aspects of life” have been affected by the closure of Rafah and the other, Israeli-controlled crossings. He noted that Gaza’s only power plant shut down on Thursday due to a lack of fuel. There have also been acute shortages of cooking gas and other fuels.

Thatha said the depth of the crisis would be revealed when remaining supplies of cooking gas run out.

He added that “160 families” are in “urgent” need of food aid. Eighty percent of Gazans are living below the poverty level.

All this, he argued, could be solved by opening the Rafah border.
Thatha called on Arab states and the international community at large to adopt the view of Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh, who criticized the United Nations for applying a double standard to Israel’s actions.

Human rights center warns of humanitarian disaster in Gaza

Sunday November 16, 2008 21:42 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The “Center for the Message of Rights” warned on Sunday that the Gaza Strip is on the verge of a further humanitarian disaster due to the strict Israeli siege, which significantly increased recently after Israel barred fifteen trucks filled with foods and medicines from entering the besieged coastal region.

The Center added that this hundreds of patients are facing death, while this siege leading to a real humanitarian disaster.

Also, the Center said that the silence and idleness of the international community and Arab communities is giving Israel a green light to cut all fuel and humanitarian supplies and is significantly obstructing the work of the UNRWA and all other humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza.

It also added more than 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are without basic supplies and that most of the Gaza Strip is without power supply which is turn affected the work of fundamental facilities such as hospitals and medical centers.

The Center demanded the international organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and all human rights groups to intervene and save the Gaza Strip and its residents as the Israeli siege impacting all aspects of the Palestinian society.