By Kouthar Sambo
According to the UN, Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Aleppo airport are preventing the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims.
The Syrian government claims that the Israeli planes attacked the airport on Tuesday, prompting Damascus to divert all flights bearing supplies for the disaster to either Damascus or Latakia.
“The closure could have severe humanitarian implications for people in Aleppo, one of the worst earthquake-impacted governorates in Syria,” El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the UN resident coordinator in Syria, said in a statement.
Furthermore, the statement went on to say that the airstrikes have caused a delay in the aid of critical medical supplies such as tetanus shots, diabetic medicine, and blood transfusion equipment.
The UN’s flights as a part of the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) have been put on hold as a result of the attacks until at least March 10.
According to Middle East Eye, Benlamlih added that the impact of this shutdown has delayed humanitarian access and could rather “drastic humanitarian consequences” for those who are affected by the catastrophe.
Aid shipments from other countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also mostly arrived at the Aleppo airport. More than 50,000 people died as a result of the earthquakes that slammed Turkey and Syria a month ago, with about 6,000 of the fatalities occurring in Syria.
Since 2011, Israel has carried out a large number of airstrikes in Syria, focusing on government forces, militants supported by Iran, and Hezbollah members. Yet, attacks on airports that shut down air travel have increased in recent months.
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