UN says restrictions on Gaza hitting food stocks

A UN humanitarian official said yesterday a fresh round of Israeli sanctions on the Gaza Strip was hitting food supplies and would have “serious” effects if continued. “In response to a deteriorating security situation in and around Gaza... Israel has announced a series of heightened restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip, including closures of the Kerem Shalom crossing,” UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator James W Rawley said. “These measures are resulting in the depletion of stocks of essential supplies, including basic foodstuffs and cooking gas, and undermine the livelihoods and rights of many vulnerable Gazan families,” he said in a statement.