Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney has asked Israel to allow the World Food Programme, WFP, to work in Gaza, saying food must not be used as a ‘political tool', hours after the UN agency ran out of stocks due to a sustained Israeli blockade on supplies.
The WFP said on Friday that it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens providing hot meals in Gaza, stating that the facilities were expected to run out of food in the coming days.
“The UN World Food Programme just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food cannot be used as a political tool,” Carney said on X.
According to the UN agency, no humanitarian or commercial supplies had entered Gaza for more than seven weeks because all main border crossing points were closed, the longest closure the Gaza Strip had ever faced.
“Palestinian civilians must not bear the consequences of Hamas' terrorist crimes. The World Food Programme must be allowed to resume its lifesaving work,” Carney added.
DAILY POST reports that Israel has previously denied that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis.
The military accused the Hamas militants who run Gaza of exploiting aid, which Hamas denied, saying it must keep all supplies out to prevent the fighters from getting it.
On Friday, the Gaza government media office said that famine was becoming a reality in the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Health authorities in Gaza said that since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone.
According to health officials, an attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza.
Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
“We will continue to work with our allies towards a permanent ceasefire and the immediate return of all hostages,” Carney added.
President Donald Trump of the United States said on Friday that he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.
