Government Operations Room: The specter of famine looms over Gaza and aid is barely getting through

SadaNews - The Government Operations Room for Emergency Interventions in the southern governorates has confirmed that the specter of famine continues to loom over the residents of the Gaza Strip, who are facing a horrific humanitarian disaster due to starvation and the ongoing extermination war for more than 667 days.

The room stated during a meeting today, Thursday, that 1,377 citizens have been martyred while trying to obtain food since May 27, and 96% of the families are suffering from water insecurity.

Mahdi Hamdan, the director of the Operations Room, stated that efforts are ongoing to coordinate plans and do everything possible to bring in and distribute aid despite the lack of resources, emphasizing that there are real partnerships in this field, the most prominent of which is the Moroccan air bridge that began last Thursday in cooperation with the Red Crescent, the Government Operations Room, and the governors.

He added that aid is being introduced through specific passages, reaching distribution centers via the Kerem Shalom crossing, praising the role of those who work tirelessly in the Gaza Strip to deliver aid, despite being exposed to direct risks during their work.

He confirmed that the Moroccan air bridge will be followed by support initiatives from Arab brothers (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain) in coordination with the Operations Room, stressing that this aid, despite its limitations, will make a difference given the enormous level of need.

For its part, the Information Technology team in the Ministry of Social Development presented a detailed overview of the "Unified Aid Portal and National Social Registry," which has been developed to be the first national electronic platform and central reference for organizing aid distribution processes, ensuring fairness, transparency, and equity, while addressing previous issues by identifying multiple distribution points to ensure the safety of citizens suffering from food insecurity and poverty.

The team considered that the establishment of this platform ends the fragmentation of relief efforts, providing services to the poor and vulnerable, while serving as an effective coordination tool for service providers, limiting the chaos of social and humanitarian aid, and providing time, effort, and dignified service to citizens.

Additionally, the Arab International Reconstruction Authority presented a presentation on its electronic platforms for its projects, describing them as a strategic shift in managing and documenting projects, enhancing transparency, accountability, and communication with funding entities and beneficiaries.

Mohammad Abu Aqlin stated that the establishment of these platforms comes to expand the fields of intervention after the aggression, activate community interaction, integrate artificial intelligence tools, smart spatial analysis, and raise the efficiency of coordination and field monitoring.

He added that the portal includes several platforms, including project tracking, project marketing, geospatial platform (digital maps), damage assessment management platform, and a platform for obtaining aid in the Gaza Strip.

The representative of the Ministry of Economy also initiated a plan in cooperation with charitable associations, as part of the urgent intervention in food security, which is based on adopting and expanding traditional and clay bakeries through the "Bread for All" program, aiming to provide bread to the most vulnerable groups, support local production and small projects, reduce pressure on central bakeries, avoid crowding and chaos at distribution points, prevent monopolies in the black market, and employ needy families through productive work.

The Government Operations Room warned against the cessation of UN and international organizations' work in Gaza and the withdrawal of their personnel, preventing them from providing essential humanitarian assistance, due to pressures from the occupation government to force these institutions to provide sensitive information about their Palestinian employees.

The room considered that these measures will negatively affect the most vulnerable groups, especially women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, in addition to preventing the entry of vital assistance, food, medicine, and hygiene materials.