UNITED NATIONS, March 25: With foodgrain and other essential commodities running short in Gaza Strip due to an Israeli closure, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that it was crucial for this week’s 48-hour opening of the Karni crossing point to become permanent.

The WFP, which provides food aid to some 160,000 Palestinians in Gaza, was able to bring in 16 containers, containing 300 tons of food, mainly beans and vegetable oil, but this was a very limited amount, agency spokesperson Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing.

A further problem was that the Israeli authorities were not allowing WFP to bring out the empty containers, and the agency needed to fill them again and bring them back in. Israel closed the crossing earlier this month, citing security concerns.