UN staff members turn away Gazans from aid centres

Shati Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip: Needy Gazans seeking food aid walked away empty-handed from locked UN distribution centres for the first time on Saturday, after a strict Israeli border closure depleted UN food reserves.

Israel sealed Gaza's borders nearly two weeks ago, as part of a new round of fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas. The clashes, including Hamas rocket fire on Israeli border towns and Israeli air strikes on Gaza fighters, have eroded a truce that had largely held for five months.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called on Israel to open the border posts to humanitarian aid and also condemned the rocket fire on Israel. Measures that increase the suffering of Gaza's civilians "are unacceptable and should cease immediately," he said in a statement.

Highlighting the growing tensions, two Palestinians were killed in disputed circumstances in northern Gaza.

Palestinian Health Ministry official Dr Moawiya Hassanain, citing reports from local medics, said the two were killed by an Israeli airstrike. However, the military said Israeli forces were not involved. In the past, fighters have sometimes been killed by Gaza rockets that fell short or exploded early.

In the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City, hundreds of people walked away empty-handed from a UN food distribution centre on Saturday. A note taped to the centre's blue gate said that the day's round of distributions was put off until December 13 "because of a lack of food to distribute." In all, the UN Relief and Works Agency distributes food to some 750,000 Gazans, or nearly half the territory's population. The needy get a new parcel of rice, flour, sugar and oil every three months. On Saturday, it would have been the turn of some 20,000 Gazans to pick up food supplies, UN aid officials said.

Itaf Yazji arrived at the Shati distribution centre on Saturday, only to find it locked. "What shall we eat now?" said the 54-year-old mother of five, who also cares for a disabled relative. Itaf said she had been waiting anxiously to pick up food because her family had ran out of rice and flour.

The United Nation's World Food Programme, which feeds another 130,000 people in Gaza says it has enough food to distribute for the next four weeks.

In Ramallah, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the outgoing Israeli prime minister tomorrow and raise his concern about the Gaza fighting.