UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 The United Nations appealed for $2.8 billion on Tuesday to provide desperately needed aid to 3 million Palestinians, stressing that tackling looming famine in war-torn Gaza requires not only food but sanitation, water and health facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andrea De Domenico, the head of the U.N. humanitarian office for Gaza and the West Bank, told reporters that \u201cmassive operations\u201d are required to restore those services and meet minimum standards \u2014 and this can\u2019t be done during military operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed to the destruction of hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, homes, roads and schools, adding that \u201cthere is not a single university that is standing in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Domenico said Israel\u2019s recently-ended second major military operation at\u00a0Shifa Hospital, Gaza\u2019s largest medical facility, was so destructive the facility has been forced to shut down. As an example, he questioned what the military objective was in shooting an MRI scanner that examines parts of the body and can detect cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said his team has been dealing with \u201ca scene of terror\u201d at the hospital, with U.N. and Palestinian colleagues helping people try to recognize family members from shoes or clothes on \u201cthe remnants of corpses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel promised to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase the flow of aid into Gaza after its drone strikes killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen who were delivering food into the territory on April 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The killings were condemned by Israel\u2019s closest allies and heightened criticism of Israel\u2019s conduct in the\u00a06-month-old war\u00a0with Hamas, sparked by the extremist group\u2019s surprise attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led some 250 others to be taken hostage. The Israeli offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people,\u00a0according to local health officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Domenico said there are signs of Israel\u2019s \u201cgood intention\u201d to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza, citing the opening of a crossing to the north, which faces the most serious threat of famine, and the opening of bakeries there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the U.N. keeps pushing Israel to do more, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Domenico pointed to\u00a0Israeli denials and delays on U.N. requests\u00a0for aid convoys to enter Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said 41% of U.N. requests that required going through Israeli checkpoints were denied during the week from April 6-12, and last week a convoy from the U.N. children\u2019s agency UNICEF and the U.N. World Food Program was caught in crossfire in an area that was supposed to be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Domenico said convoys often spend hours at checkpoints and are only cleared in the afternoon, too late to make deliveries and return safely in daylight hours. He said the Israelis know this is how the U.N. operates, and delays allow them to say \u201cwe\u2019re not blindly denying you\u201d while controlling what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe continue to engage with them and our objective is really to solve the issue and deliver aid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the international community\u2019s authority on determining\u00a0the severity of hunger crises, famine is imminent in northern Gaza where 70% of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger. And its recent report warned that escalating the war could push half of Gaza\u2019s 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Domenico said the U.N. appeal was scaled back from $4 billion because of difficulties in getting aid into Gaza \u2014 and most importantly getting it to the people who need it most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said 90% of the $2.8 billion being sought for the rest of the year is for Gaza and 10% is for the West Bank, which has seen an upsurge in violence and settler attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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