UN: Israeli Gaza restrictions hitting food stocks

A UN humanitarian official said on Wednesday a fresh round of Israeli sanctions on the Gaza Strip was hitting food supplies and would have "serious" effects if continued. "In response to a deteriorating security situation in and around Gaza... Israel has announced a series of heightened restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip, including closures of the Kerem Shalom crossing," UN Humanitarian Coordinator James W Rawley said. "These measures are resulting in the depletion of stocks of essential supplies, including basic foodstuffs and cooking gas, and undermine the livelihoods and rights of many vulnerable Gazan families," he said in a statement. "If these restrictions continue, the effect upon the Gaza population will be serious." Kerem Shalom, the only goods crossing from Israel into Strip, was shut on Monday, a day after a rocket was fired from Gaza into southern Israel. It had been opened on March 28 after a week-long closure imposed after a previous round of rocket fire