UK says 2,000-tonne food aid package has entered Gaza

Reuters
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LONDON (Reuters) - More than 2,000 tonnes of British food aid has crossed into Gaza via Jordan and is being distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to families in need, Britain's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Aid agencies have reported widespread shortages of food, medicines and clean water in Gaza, with a U.N.-backed report projecting famine and about half the population across the whole of the Gaza Strip facing "catastrophic hunger".

KEY QUOTES

"We need sustained humanitarian access by road to get more aid in," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.

"We continue to push Israel to allow more crossings to open and for longer, and for healthcare, water and sanitation to be restored.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Britain's Foreign Office said its food parcels would be distributed by the WFP and feed over 275,000 people in Gaza.

In addition to the 2,000 tonnes of food aid delivered, it said 150 tonnes of UK-funded aid assistance, including tents and blankets, sent on March 13 would be distributed by UNICEF.

(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William James and Mark Heinrich)