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U.N. says aid into Gaza stalled at Kerem Shalom; hospitals, warehouses strained
Summary
The United Nations says Israel has denied requests to collect humanitarian cargo at the Kerem Shalom crossing for several days, leaving nearly 600 of roughly 900 offloaded trucks unable to reach Gaza warehouses as hospitals face evacuations and supplies run low.
The United Nations spokesperson said on Monday that Israeli authorities have denied U.N. requests to collect humanitarian cargo from the Kerem Shalom crossing, preventing aid already offloaded at the Gaza side from reaching warehouses and people in need.
The spokesperson said nearly 900 trucks had been approved to enter over the past 10 days and that almost 600 trucks had been offloaded on the Gaza side at Kerem Shalom but had not been distributed into Gaza itself. "The quantity of supplies allowed into Gaza is just a trickle of aid required to meet the immense needs of 2,100,000 people," the spokesperson said.
The U.N. humanitarian country team criticized a newly announced, more militarized distribution system, saying it "does not meet the needs of people in Gaza" and "undermined the capacity of our own teams on the ground to deliver genuine humanitarian assistance that would reach the most vulnerable groups," the spokesperson said. The U.N. stressed that fundamental humanitarian principles are "nonnegotiable." The World Food Programme reported that people broke into a WFP warehouse in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza in search of prepositioned food; initial reports indicated two people died and several were injured while WFP continues to confirm details.
On medical facilities, the spokesperson said Israeli authorities ordered the medical team at Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to evacuate as attacks intensified; Al Awda is the only partially functioning hospital remaining in North Gaza, and it is "overwhelmed with injuries and critically low on supplies." The World Health Organization and partners reportedly reached the hospital twice last week and transferred 57 critical patients to Al Shifa Hospital. The spokesperson said WHO teams that visited were exposed to nearby air strikes, shelling and gunfire.
The spokesperson said U.N. teams continue to send supplies to the holding area at Kerem Shalom but lack the security clearances needed to pick up and distribute many shipments. "We need their clearance to go get the material. We need their clearance to go back," the spokesperson said, referring to Israeli authorities. The U.N. said it asked for permission for six missions and that the requests were denied on several recent days.
The briefing also addressed broader occupied Palestinian territory concerns: the U.N. reiterated that the secretary-general has called on Israel to cease settlement activities in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, calling them illegal and an obstacle to peace and development.
Ending: The U.N. said its teams will continue to press for access and to deliver aid where possible while urging all parties to protect civilians and humanitarian infrastructure. The U.N. also said it would report further updates if permissions to collect and distribute cargo change.
