First flour distribution in months starts for northern Gaza Strip families

GAZA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Relief and food aid, mainly flour, reaches Palestinian families in the northern Gaza Strip for the first time in about 4 months, local sources said on Sunday.

Local sources and eyewitnesses told Xinhua that 12 trucks loaded with relief and food aid entered Gaza City and reached the cities and towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, where the cargos were unloaded in warehouses belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The trucks, which carried flour, canned goods, and other food items, were secured by armed people affiliated with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in cooperation with Palestinian clans, according to the sources.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed in a statement all efforts to deliver aid to residents in the northern Gaza Strip, noting the aid "is not sufficient compared to the enormous humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians in that area."

It called for the necessity of opening all crossings and ensuring the continued flow of aid by land, sea, and air.

The ministry emphasized the importance of the United Nations Security Council "exercising sufficient courage to make a binding UN decision to immediately stop the ceasefire, and to support the efforts of mediators to reach an immediate agreement to release hostages and prisoners."