UN: aid deliveries to Gaza cover most minimum caloric needs in recent distributions; spokesperson urges more crossings as activists plan flotilla

The United Nations told reporters on Friday that humanitarian partners have stepped up deliveries in Gaza but that access remains constrained and the most effective solution is to open more land crossings.

Steph, the UN spokesperson, said that in the first week of April partners distributed two parcels of high-energy biscuits and a bag of flour per family to nearly a quarter of a million people, covering about 75% of minimum caloric needs — an improvement from previous months. Distributions were complemented by cash assistance, the spokesperson said.

She said education partners have established more than 580 temporary learning spaces across the Gaza Strip and that about 360,000 children are receiving some form of education through temporary sites and repaired classrooms.

On an anticipated Samidoun maritime flotilla expected to sail toward Gaza, Steph said the UN’s priority is that any private or civil-society relief effort be conducted safely and without putting people at risk. “For us the best and most efficient way to deliver humanitarian aid would be for the Israeli authorities to increase the number of crossings,” she said, naming Kerem Shalom (Kerem Abu Salem) as the primary crossing currently available to UN agencies, NGOs and commercial traffic.

The spokesperson cautioned against hazardous maritime confrontations and said the UN would continue to press for humanitarian access and safe, sustained delivery routes by land and by sea where feasible.

Questions about potential confrontations at sea and the safety of flotilla participants were raised by journalists during the briefing; Steph said UN teams would monitor developments and urged organizers to prioritize civilian safety.