UN Statement: Israeli Authority Still Blocks Aid Delivery To Gaza

Trucks transporting humanitarian aid entered Gaza from the crossing point at the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah, Egypt, October 21, 2023. (Between/Xinhua/Ahmed Gomama/tm/am)

JAKARTA - The United Nations on Monday said Israeli authorities were still blocking the planned shipment of aid to Gaza.

The new OCHA report (BP Humanitarian Affairs Coordinating Office) regarding access constraints in Gaza said restrictions and rejection of planned aid by Israeli authorities continued to hinder the distribution of life-saving assistance, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a press conference.

He said "more than half of the UN-coordinated food missions to high-risk areas requiring coordination with Israeli authorities were rejected or hindered" throughout March.

Dujarric also said that the OCHA team and the World Health Organization (WHO) had arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza which was the target of the Israeli military.

"Our organization at OCHA reports that the hospital has been destroyed and abandoned. WHO says shallow graves are excavated right in front of emergency buildings and other buildings," he said.

Noting that there is only one main road for humanitarian workers to access between northern and southern Gaza, Dujarric said roads along Gaza's eastern border have so far been used on a limited basis.

"Although there are restrictions, our partners and we continue to send humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza whenever and wherever we can. Last week, 17 health partners provided primary and secondary health services to nearly a quarter of a million people," he added.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip since cross-border attacks in early October 2023 by Palestinian resistance groupHamas, which killed about 1,200 people.

More than 33,200 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 76,000 people injured amid mass destruction and shortages of basic necessities.

Israel has also imposed a blockade that crippled the Gaza Strip, leading to its population, especially residents of northern Gaza, being on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has left 85 percent of Gaza's population displaced amid food shortages, clean water and medicines, while 60 percent of infrastructure in the enclave has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.

Israel is accused of committing genocide in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently called on Israel to do more to prevent hunger in Gaza.