Israel continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza — UN
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq says they have to coordinate every movement in advance with the Israeli authorities in some areas, adding that Israel only facilitated two of eight aid attempts.
The UN has said that Israeli restrictions continue to block the flow of humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza, a month after the ceasefire took effect.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday at a news conference that "one month into the ceasefire, 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."
"In some areas, our teams still have to coordinate every movement in advance with the Israeli authorities," he said, adding that Israel facilitated only two out of eight aid attempts entirely and "four were impeded on the ground — including one that was delayed for 10 hours before the team finally received a green light to move."
Haq said the UN and its partners are "seizing every opportunity to expand operations" despite the continuing challenges.
Israeli obstacles
Asked about the holdup in opening more border crossings, he said the obstacle lies with Israel.
"Well, the holdup is on the Israeli side. We've been asking them and trying to coordinate with them to get more crossings opened, but they still have not done so," he said.
Israel killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in its genocide in the blockaded enclave since October 2023.
It has reduced most of the enclave to ruins and practically displaced all of its population.