GENEVA, Tuesday, April 9, 2024 (WAFA) - Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations humanitarian office (UNOCHA), said today it was much more difficult to get clearance for delivering food than other aid in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

"Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70 percent of people face famine conditions, are ... three times more likely to be denied than any other humanitarian convoys with other kinds of material," Laerke told reporters in Geneva.

"The aid is available, distribution is what matters," Laerke said.

He insisted that "counting day to day and comparing makes little sense because it does not take into account the delays that happen at the crossing and the further movement to warehouses".

He pointed to delays linked to the crossing point opening hours and the fact that Israel has barred Egyptian drivers and trucks from being in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks.

"That means there's not a smooth handover," Laerke said. "The main problem though was then getting authorisation and assurances that aid distribution can go ahead unimpeded," he added.

Laerke stressed that "the obligation is on Israel as the occupying power of Gaza, to facilitate and ensure humanitarian access does not stop at the border".

M.N