Photo courtesy of Anadolu.
The United Nations reported on Monday that Israel had denied or delayed almost half of coordinated humanitarian aid movements in the Gaza Strip, despite a ceasefire agreement. Only just over half of the shipments were fully facilitated over a six-day period.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said operations continued to face “significant impediments.”
He explained that shipments from Jordan had to follow a route requiring multiple offloading and reloading points. Deliveries from Egypt, through Kerem Shalom, faced frequent returns. Between February 4 and 10, fewer than 60 percent of consignments from Egypt were successfully offloaded at the crossing.
In Gaza, Dujarric said aid movements that required coordination with Israeli authorities also encountered obstacles. Of nearly 50 such movements between February 6 and 11, just over half were completed as planned. Five were denied outright, while 11 faced delays and other impediments, including two that were only partially accomplished.
He added that two more movements were denied on Monday alone. UN teams had continued discussions with Israeli authorities to clarify constraints and seek resolutions.
A US-backed ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since October 10, halting a two-year conflict that killed more than 72,000 people and injured over 171,000 others, mostly women and children.
Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli forces reportedly carried out hundreds of violations through shelling and gunfire, killing 603 Palestinians and injuring 1,618 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Dujarric emphasized that the disruptions to aid shipments had hampered relief efforts and continued to affect the delivery of food, medical supplies, and other essential items to those in need.
