GAZA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday warned of disruptions in aid delivery and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing bordering Egypt.
UNRWA said in a press statement that the continued disruption of aid and fuel supplies through the Rafah crossing would halt humanitarian response throughout the Gaza Strip.
It noted that the famine would worsen, especially in northern Gaza Strip, if supplies are cut off.
The General Authority for Borders and Crossings in Gaza said in a brief statement that operations at the Rafah land crossing were suspended following the entry of Israeli tanks into the crossing facilities from Palestinian territory.
Passenger movement from Gaza has ceased, and the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the enclave has been halted, it added.
The Israeli army announced on Tuesday it had attained "operational" control over the Palestinian side of the crossing, following what it described as a "precise counter-terrorism operation" in the eastern area of Rafah during the night.
In a statement, the government media office in Gaza accused Israel of deliberately exacerbating the humanitarian situation by obstructing aid delivery and closing both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings in southern Gaza Strip.
The statement noted that such actions had exacerbated the humanitarian situation catastrophically, necessitating immediate and urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to stop what it termed a "genocidal war" against civilians, including children and women.
The office held the U.S. administration and Israel fully responsible for the "ongoing aggression against civilians," calling on all countries to exert pressure on Israel to reopen the crossings for passenger movement and the transportation of goods and aid.
On Sunday, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, a key entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza, after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets at a military base in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers. ■
