GENEVA, Switzerland: The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross called Tuesday for all crossings into Gaza to be opened to allow desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory.
A fragile truce in Gaza, introduced under US President Donald Trump’s plan, needs to see crossings opened to flood the famine-hit Palestinian territory with aid, they said.
“That’s what humanitarians, including ICRC, have been calling for in the last hours is making sure that, because of the huge needs, all entry points can be open,” Red Cross spokesman Christian Cardon told reporters in Geneva.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA’s spokesman Jens Laerke added: “We need all of them open.”
He acknowledged that not all of the crossings were currently “functional”, with some “partially destroyed”, while road clearance was needed inside Gaza to allow trucks in.
“We are calling for that to be repaired so that they can become operational,” he said. “We’re advocating with everyone.”
On August 22, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, the first in the Middle East, after experts warned 500,000 people faced a “catastrophic” threat.
Israel has accused Hamas of manufacturing a crisis and stealing aid.
Laerke said Tuesday that the UN had 190,000 metric tonnes of aid waiting and ready to go into Gaza.
Gaza ceasefire declaration
Since October 2023, Israel’s bombardment campaign has killed at least 67,869 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.
On Monday, Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners.
Trump, during the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit in Egypt, joined the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye to sign the declaration as guarantors to the Gaza deal.
“This is a tremendous day for the world, it’s a tremendous day for the Middle East,” Trump said as more than two dozen world leaders sat down to talk in the resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
“The document is going to spell out rules and regulations and lots of other things,” Trump said before signing, repeating twice that “it’s going to hold up.”
As part of Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, Hamas on Monday freed the last 20 surviving hostages it held after two years of captivity in Gaza.
In exchange, Israel released 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners held in its jails, its prison service said.
