A humanitarian disaster is looming in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli closure of key commercial crossing which led to a severe shortage of flour, Palestinian Minister of Economy Mazen Sanakrot warned Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sanakrot said that the seven mills in the coastal strip had run out of flour stock, due to the closure of Karni crossing on Gaza's eastern border over the past 44 days, warning that the situation may lead to chaos and a serious humanitarian disaster if the Karni crossing, major commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, remained closed.
On the other hand, Israeli sources confirmed that the closure of the Gaza Strip will continue after March 28 elections which will result in severe deterioration in humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"Karni's closure led the Palestinian Mill Co., which says it supplies about 60 percent of Gaza's flour, to idle last week because it used up its flour stocks," Ha’aretz reported Saturday.
"The Israel Defense Forces is inclined to continue it until after the March 28 elections," the Tel Aviv-based paper added, pointing out that the Palestinian laborers are not allowed to enter Israel.
Most of Gaza bakeries have been shut down after Palestinians flocked to buy bread, fearing a shortage.
A United Nations report obtained by Ha’aretz revealed that Israel's tightening of security procedures has resulted in a heavy humanitarian toll in the occupied Palestinian territories since the country’s parliamentary elections that were held in January.
The report moreover accused Israel of "accelerating its plan to separate Palestinian and Israeli road systems within the West Bank."
Israel's closure of the Karni crossing resulted in an estimated loss of $10.5 million, the paper added.
Re: Officials warn against humanitarian disaster in Gaza
May Allah restore the ummah to its glory, and remove the fear from our heart and place it into the hearts of the mujrimeen. Ya Allah, remove the love of the dunya and replace it with love for jannah, ameen.
The night of opression has indeed lengthened...
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