HAMILTON, Canada: The United Nations said that the Israeli restrictions are still obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a month after a ceasefire came into effect.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters Monday that “efforts to ramp up aid are still being held back by red tape, ongoing bans on key humanitarian partners, too few crossings and routes, and insecurity that persists despite the ceasefire.”
He said UN teams must coordinate every movement with Israeli authorities, and that Israel fully facilitated only two of eight aid missions last week. “Four were impeded on the ground — including one delayed for 10 hours before approval was granted,” Haq added.
Responding to questions about the delay in opening additional border crossings, Haq said the obstacle lies entirely with Israel, reports Anadolu.
“The holdup is on the Israeli side. We’ve been asking and coordinating to get more crossings opened, but they still have not done so,” he said.
Despite the ceasefire, Gaza remains on the brink of collapse. Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians and injured over 170,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Haq said the UN and partner agencies are “seizing every opportunity to expand operations,” but warned that continued restrictions risk undermining the fragile truce and worsening the humanitarian crisis.
