Aid efforts to Gaza face serious obstacles amid ongoing conflict

Staff members from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have called for better access to be granted to aid workers in Gaza after their mission to deliver essential supplies to the remnants of the Indonesian Hospital and evacuate patients to Gaza City on Sunday was met with severe challenges, including the arrest of patients who were set to be evacuated.

Jonathan Whittall, Interim Head of the OCHA Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA OPT), said that the joint mission which was carried out alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) managed to reach Jabalya in the north of Gaza and brought some supplies, but stressed the Indonesian hospital is not functioning properly due to the ongoing conflict.

According to Whittall, the joint mission had been trying to reach the north of Gaza 140 times in the last two months, but has been denied on every occasion. People here have no food, no water, and poor sanitation, he added.

He also expressed deep concern about the dire situation in Gaza.

"We've been trying to reach the north of Gaza 140 times in the last two months. Every time it has been denied. People here have no food, no water, sanitation, nothing. They need us to be able to reach them. We need to be able to reach people wherever they are. That's not negotiable. We need to be able to provide the basics for survival: food, water, healthcare. These atrocities need to end," he said.

Sara Al-Saqqa, a staff member from OCHA Gaza, also spoke out about the recurring barriers which are preventing humanitarian relief being provided.

"We should be able to deliver food and supplies. We should be able to rehabilitate hospitals and support the healthcare system. This is a pattern that we have been seeing over and over for the past 14 months. Areas become besieged with no access to humanitarian aid, healthcare, food, or medical supplies. This is not acceptable," she said.

Al-Saqqa detailed the specific areas in northern Gaza that had remained inaccessible, including Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalya, despite repeated efforts to deliver aid.

"We have been trying for the past three months to come and reach the north, and we couldn't. We have been denied one time after another," she said.

As the joint mission's failure to fully deliver aid and evacuate patients has articulated the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as access to essential supplies and healthcare continues to be blocked in several parts of the region.

The international community has repeatedly called for unrestricted access for humanitarian organizations, but ongoing violence and political barriers have made it nearly impossible to address the growing needs of civilians in Gaza.

As the conflict persists, the urgent need for humanitarian access remains a critical issue for both local and international aid organizations. The situation continues to deteriorate, leaving millions of civilians trapped without the basic necessities for survival.

Aid efforts to Gaza face serious obstacles amid ongoing conflict

Aid efforts to Gaza face serious obstacles amid ongoing conflict

Flower breeding and cultivation bases across China are actively promoting new and healthier varieties of flowering trees and plants, helping create a brighter future for the country's famous springtime scenery.

In a peach blossom scenic area in Changde City of central China's Hunan Province, more than 50 varieties of peach blossoms are in full bloom, attracting flocks of visitors.

The varieties in the area come from the national peach germplasm resource bank in the city. Through artificial cultivation, not only are the varieties of flowers increasing, but the flowering period is also being extended.

According to researchers, one of the star varieties, noted for its rich color, took nearly 16 years to cultivate and promote in the scenic area.

"Its biggest feature is its strong resistance to gummosis. We can see that although a branch like this is damaged, there is no gummosis, so it has a long lifespan and can be used in gardens for a longer time," said Wang Yan, professor of the province's Changde Vocational and Technical College.

Gummosis is the formation of gummy substances on the surface of the trees, which often result from dead tissue.

At Phalaenopsis World, the country's largest phalaenopsis tissue culture center in Suqian City in east China's Jiangsu Province, technicians are cutting phalaenopsis seedlings into thin slices and planting them one by one in transparent bottles, allowing them to multiply exponentially.

"The breeding cycle is short, and the light, temperature and humidity can be freely adjusted artificially. The phalaenopsis bred using this technology have high uniformity and fast growth rate," said Wang Yanting, a plant inoculation specialist at the cultivation center.

Researchers said that the planting center uses more than 200 smart sensors and 5G technology to accurately control growth factors such as temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation to achieve "timed flowering."

"In fact, the natural flowering period of phalaenopsis should be from the beginning of the Chinese New Year to early May, and this is its natural state. Now we can intervene with technology and make it bloom any day we want. Phalaenopsis blooms through temperature regulation. At this time, we need to use air conditioning equipment, constant temperature equipment and dehumidification equipment," said Cao Guofeng, director of the cultivation base.

Breeding bases across China promote new spring flower varieties