Scathing report by aid groups blames Israeli embargo for food shortages
MSNBC News Services
updated 7:40 a.m. ET, Thurs., March. 6, 2008
JERUSALEM - Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip has created the worst humanitarian crisis since its occupation began in 1967, a human-rights coalition said Thursday.
Food shortages, crumbling health services and a water and sewage system close to collapse are all part of the daily misery facing 1.5 million Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, a scathing report by British relief groups said.
"As we speak, sewage is literally pouring into the streets," said Geoffrey Dennis, head of CARE International, one of the eight non-governmental organizations behind the report.
"Over the past three weeks we've only been able to send in food and medicine and the aid dependency is rising."
Israel imposed restrictions on the flow of people and goods and virtually froze economic activity last June when Hamas Islamists seized control of Gaza.
80 percent rely on food aid
The report painted a picture of an enclave held hostage by the embargo, which it said had worsened poverty, crippled education services and made 1.1 million people -- 80 percent of the population -- dependent on food aid. That compares to 63 percent in 2006.
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