News summary of Israel’s May 19 war against Hamas

Gaza faces a “dire” food situation as just over 300 aid trucks have entered since Israel began its offensive in Rafah, the UN humanitarian agency said in a report on Friday.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “over 3,000 metric tons of food in key warehouses has become inaccessible to food security partners due to ongoing hostilities.” “A limited amount of supplies have arrived in Gaza since May 6 and are largely inadequate to meet the growing needs,” he said.

Israeli forces seized the Palestinian section of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on 7 May, cutting off aid deliveries through Rafah.

According to OCHA, the situation in Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah continues to deteriorate as thousands of Palestinians have fled to both districts to escape the Israeli crackdown in Rafah.

“According to the UN, between 6 and 16 May, approximately 640,000 people were displaced from Rafah. …There are no reserves of shelter material left inside Gaza,” the report says.

The UN agency stressed that more aid should be allowed to pass through checkpoints and enter Gaza by land.

“Any assistance to Gaza in any form is welcome. However, floating docks should not be relied upon to bring aid to those in need in and through Gaza,” OCHA spokesman Jens Larke said on Friday, referring to a floating dock built by the US military that has begun delivering aid. Given area.

More than 300 pallets of humanitarian aid were delivered to Gaza via the ferry, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday.

CNN’s Lucas Lilleeholm contributed reporting to this publication.