(NewsNation) — Anera, a charitable organization advocating for a secure humanitarian aid route into Gaza, has concentrated its efforts on the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza. Although there were initial hopes for its opening, the crossing remains closed.
In just one week, the United Nations reported that approximately one million Gaza residents have been displaced.
Sean Carroll, the CEO and president of the organization, joined “NewsNation Now” to discuss the challenges of helping amid an ongoing dispute about the cause of an explosion at a Gaza hospital.
“We are delivering hot meals and food parcels to about 45,000 people a day by procuring locally and preparing and delivering locally to the U.N. shelters where displaced are being housed. But that will end soon when stocks dry up,” Carroll said.
Carroll said that the immediate priority is helping those in dire need.
“This is a humanitarian catastrophe, and (we) absolutely have to have all humanitarians, all international authorities calling for a humanitarian corridor,” said Carroll.
Anera has distributed medical supplies and delivered hot meals and food parcels to thousands of displaced individuals. However, according to Carroll, the organization’s resources are dwindling, and time is running out.
“Our distribution center is empty, and we need more. But we have to have a humanitarian quarter opened up to do that,” Carroll said.
The organization has been coordinating with government officials and the United Nations to secure a crossing from Egypt at the southern border or potentially use the El Arish airport, an hour south of the Gaza border, for humanitarian aid deliveries.
“Our staff, along with about a million Palestinians in Gaza, have been forced out of their homes into the south. And things aren’t completely safe there either,” Carroll said.
The U.N. warned that food stocks will last at most three to five days. Local supplies are dwindling, and delivering aid at the current rate won’t be sustainable for long.