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(AWP) - Living in their dilapidated tent at the Kafr Jalis camp for refugees near the city of Idlib, Abdul Sattar al-Humaidi and his family are suffering from the lack of food. He believes that the closure of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey will exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the region.

Five years after fleeing the village of Khan al-Subl in Idlib’s southern countryside, the 50-year-old man struggles to obtain much-needed medicine for himself, his children and his grandchildren.

The United Nations Security Council’s failure to extend the aid mechanism through the border crossing after Russia’s veto has worsened the situation for al-Humaidi and other refugees.

Al-Humaidi says that his daily income as a farmer is insufficient for him and his family, adding that the border crossing closure is "unfair" and impacts most refugees in the northern Syrian camps.

"In terms of the aid situation, we would (usually) get a (food) basket once every 3 or 4 months when aid was coming through the Bab al-Hawa crossing; but now even that has halted," al-Humaidi said.

"Neither I nor anyone else will receive any aid from the (Syria)] regime in all the camps in the liberated [Northern Syria] areas. I’m just telling you our situation here; we will not see any (aid)," he added.

Paediatrician Mohammed al-Sharif described the crossing’s closure as a "humanitarian catastrophe" for millions of refugees, who have been suffering since the beginning of the war in Syria in 2011, along with the recent earthquake that hit areas in northwestern Syria six months ago.

"Undoubtedly, the decision to stop humanitarian aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing is a humanitarian catastrophe for over 4 million Syrians in northwest Syria, who have endured decades of suffering from war, bombing, displacement and destruction," said Al-Sharif, who works with the Humanitarian Relief Organisation in northern Syria.

He added, "Then the earthquake catastrophe increased their suffering. Therefore, we were shocked by the decision last month that prevents the transfer of aid through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which will lead to a catastrophe in the humanitarian, health and relief fields."

Al-Sharif expected a "catastrophe" in the health field due to the suspension of aid transit, noting that many hospitals and health centres could cease to function within weeks if the situation continues.

No more than 80 relief trucks entered from Bab al-Salama and al-Rai crossings in northern Aleppo, following the exception deal in force, which will end on August 13, after which the relief operations and their delegations to Syria will stop.

This coincides with a significant decrease in the private aid stock of humanitarian organisations operating in the region, specifically in Idlib governorate and its countryside. This is due to the suspension of movement through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, as well as the suspension of dozens of food security projects in the region.

Mazen Alloush, Director of the Public Relations Office at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, similarly warned of an "economic and humanitarian catastrophe" in the area if the aid transfer mechanism is not reinstated.

"If the mechanism for the entry of aid across the border from the Bab al-Hawa crossing is not reinstated, it will ignite a humanitarian and economic catastrophe in the region. We have 2.6 million citizens who will lose their right to the food basket. 2.8 million citizens will lose their access to drinking water. We have more than 800 camps inhabited by nearly 1.1 million citizens who will lose their access to a loaf of bread," he said.

"More than half of the hospitals will close and many projects carried out by United Nations partner organisations in liberated areas will cease due to the cut-off of aid. We are facing a major humanitarian and economic catastrophe in the region. The last [aid] convoy entered on July 9 during the Security Council's latest six-month renewal of the Bab al-Hawa crossing (deal)," he added.