The Norwegian Refugee Council presented its latest assessment of conditions inside Gaza in a report dated June 27. “People are starting to experience starvation in the Middle area and in the South, reported Majed Qishawi, NRC’s Education Officer in Gaza. “All indicators say that we will reach a point where they literally can’t find anything to eat if the situation persists, if the crossing, the main source of food supplies, remains closed. Farms are all destroyed. The few existing food supplies in Gaza cannot last forever.”
NRC spoke to 1,091 families displaced by Israel’s evacuation orders in Rafah in May who stayed at NRC-supported sites:
• 83% reported no access to food.
• 52% said they had no access to dignified shelter.
• On average, 9 people stayed in the same shelter.
• 57% had no access to safe water.
• Almost everyone had no access to adequate latrine facilities.
The day after the NRC issued its report, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at the Pentagon that President Joe Biden’s failed floating pier had been detached from the Gaza coast and removed to the Israeli port of Ashdod due to expected bad weather. She was unclear, however, as to when or even if it would be coming back to Gaza. “When the commander decides that it is the right time to reinstall that pier, we’ll keep you updated on that,” she said. “As of right now, the intention is to continue to get aid into Gaza by any means necessary. That includes the pier, airdrops and of course, as we’ve always said with the pier, it is meant to be temporary,” she added.
