GENEVA: The Middle East conflict is obstructing key delivery routes for humanitarian supplies, delaying shipments of lifesaving aid for nearly half a million children far beyond the region, Save the Children said Wednesday.
The charity warned that the war was disrupting key air, sea and land routes, with dire ripple effects on global aid supplies.
Since US-Israeli forces launched the war against Iran on February 28, Tehran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East and threats that have nearly halted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies normally passes.
Aid deliveries have been heavily impacted, with shipping costs soaring up to 50 percent in some cases as the shipments are rerouted, Save the Children said.
This has left lifesaving aid intended for at least 410,000 children and their families in crisis-ravaged Sudan, Afghanistan and Yemen stuck in the Middle East.
