The UN said on Tuesday, warning that humanitarian needs continue to outpace access and capacity.UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the regular news briefing in New York that the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, had received additional reports of airstrikes, bombing, shelling – including from at sea - and shootings in residential areas.The violence, he said, “puts civilians in danger and adds to the immense hardship they have endured over the past 28 months.”He added that civilians are protected under international humanitarian law wherever they are, “even if they cross military demarcation lines or are near them...civilians must always be protected and during military operations and constant care must be taken to spare them.”Health centre reopensAmid the ongoing hostilities, UN agencies reported limited but important progress in restoring essential services.The UN ‘s Palestine refugee relief agency (UNRWA) said it has reopened the Bureij Health Centre in Deir al Balah after months of closure. The facility is now providing primary healthcare, maternal health services, laboratory testing and dental care.However, thousands of patients remain without access to treatment and recovery, as critical services are still unavailable in Gaza.“Their top priority is to scale up local services, including by rehabilitating damaged facilities and expanding critical care. This requires more medical supplies, including items that are not easily approved for entry by Israeli authorities, such as X-ray machines and laboratory equipment,” Mr. Dujarric said.Shelter, protection needs remain acuteUN shelter partners said that by last week they had provided more than 5,600 families with emergency shelter assistance in just over one week, including nearly 5,000 tarpaulins and more than 12,000 bedding items.Last month alone, similar assistance – including nearly 8,000 tents – reached more than 85,000 families. However, durable solutions are urgently needed, which requires permission from Israeli authorities to bring in machinery and construction materials to repair damaged structures, partner organizations said.

to authorize a series of administrative and enforcement measures in Areas A and B in the occupied West Bank. The measures would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land, thus expanding Israel’s power in the territory, according to media reports. The UN chief warned that the current trajectory on the ground – including this decision – is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution, according to a statement issued by his Spokesperson. Settlements are illegal He reiterated that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and their associated regime and infrastructure, have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including relevant UN resolutions. “Such actions, including Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are not only destabilizing but – as recalled by the International Court of Justice – unlawful,” the statement said.  The Secretary-General called on Israel to reverse the measures. He also urged all parties “to preserve the only path to lasting peace, a negotiated two-State solution, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and international law.” Heading off course UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric was asked about the statement during his regular briefing to journalists in New York. “These decisions are not moving us in the right direction,” he said. “They are driving us further and further away from a two-State solution and from the ability of the Palestinian authority and the Palestinian people to control their own destiny.” Ongoing aid efforts in Gaza Meanwhile, humanitarians in the Gaza Strip continue to respond to the immense needs of the population despite impediments and a challenging operating environment. The UN and partners are serving hundreds of thousands of meals each day, in addition to providing digital cash and monthly rations, Mr. Dujarric said. Colleagues report that Gaza City continues to face a severe shortage of drinking and domestic water despite the recent re-opening of the valve on the Mekorot supply line there that connects Israel to Gaza for fresh water.  Water and hygiene support Currently, only 6,000 cubic metres of water are reaching people in Gaza City every day, with significant losses in hard-to-reach areas.  “To mitigate this shortfall, we and our partners have increased water production and trucked deliveries from groundwater wells and private sector desalination plants,” he said. Aid partners have distributed over 100,000 water jerry cans across the Gaza Strip since late January, he added. They have also provided over 700,000 bars of soap, over 25,000 hygiene kits, over 400 household latrines, and 250 anti-lice kits Explosive ordnance threat Since Wednesday, humanitarians working in mine action have conducted over 200 assessments of potential explosive hazards in support of the removal of debris. They reached over 10,000 children and adults last week with education warning them of the risks of explosive ordnance which remains a major threat.  Thirty-three explosive ordnance incidents have been reported since the ceasefire came into effect last October, resulting in nine deaths and 65 injuries.  Restrictions and limitations UN aid coordination office, OCHA, noted that humanitarians continue to be hampered by restrictions, including limitations on the entry of so-called “dual use” items and those listed as non-humanitarian in nature. This includes spare parts and certain shelter materials.  Humanitarian operations are also being undermined by Israel’s de-registration of some international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and restrictions imposed on the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees – UNRWA – and sister agencies. 

As World Cancer Day is marked, thousands of patients in Gaza face worsening illness, untreated pain and closed crossings – despite the limited opening of the vital route through Rafah this week.“We are dying. Every day, between two and three patients die inside this hospital,” says Munther Abu Foul, a cancer patient lying on his bed in Gaza’s largest hospital. “I can’t get out of bed because of the pain. We want a solution – open the crossings.”His words capture the reality facing thousands of cancer patients across the Strip, where access to specialist care has collapsed and evacuation for treatment abroad remains out of reach for many.Local health organisations warn that around 11,000 patients are currently deprived of specialised or diagnostic cancer treatment inside Gaza. Some 4,000 patients who received medical referrals to hospitals outside the Strip have been waiting for more than two years to travel.UN News visited Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, documenting the dire conditions inside its oncology department. Patients crowd corridors and wards, waiting for consultations or treatments that are no longer available. Essential medicines and equipment are in short supply, while many patients endure chronic pain that leaves them barely able to move.‘Every day, two or three patients die’Mr. Abu Foul flips through his medical transfer papers, issued long ago for treatment outside Gaza. He has not been able to travel for more than two years.“The health situation in the Gaza Strip is dilapidated,” he says. “There is no treatment or medicines, and we are dying. Every day, two to three patients die here inside this hospital. I can’t get out of bed because of the pain.”He appeals directly for help. “We want a solution. Open the crossings properly so that God will release us from this suffering. Everyone will be held accountable.”Nearby, Mohamed Hammou tends to his elderly mother, who is also battling cancer. He says families are forced to watch loved ones deteriorate without care.“This is how we stand in front of a patient who is dying, without treatment or any medical facilities that help them recover,” he says. “This does not please God and it does not satisfy people. We call on Islamic, Arab and international nations to look at the sick with mercy.”A brother in painIn another ward, Raed Abu Warda cares for his brother Hamid, whose cancer has worsened after long delays in treatment. What began as a small, benign illness has become a life-threatening condition.“He has been suffering from cancer for two years,” Raed explains. “He waited all this time for the crossing to open so he could be treated outside. His pain has increased, as you can see.”He gestures towards a wound that has opened beneath his brother’s chin. “The disease has created this wound, and his condition is getting worse every day. I stand watching my brother and mourning his condition because of the pain.”The number of patients seeking care at Gaza’s oncology departments continues to rise, even as hospitals face severe shortages of medicines, equipment and specialised staff. For newly diagnosed patients, the future is increasingly uncertain.Evacuations far short of needsWith the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the evacuation of patients and their companions from Gaza, focusing on ensuring safe transport. Yet the scale of need far outstrips what is currently possible.More than 18,000 patients – including around 4,000 children – are waiting to be evacuated abroad for medical treatment, according to WHO.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last week that Gaza’s Ministry of Health had recorded more than 1,200 patient deaths while people were waiting for medical evacuation. Around 4,000 cancer patients remain on critical waiting lists, trapped between closed crossings and a health system pushed beyond its limits.For patients like Munther Abu Foul, time is running out. “We are dying,” he repeats. “All we ask for is a way to live.”
 

A senior official with the UN agency that assists the Palestinian people, UNRWA, has said. The sole border point with Egypt is a lifeline to the world – including for thousands of severely ill or injured Palestinians who require medical treatment outside the enclave, where last October’s fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold. The development comes, however, following reports of violence over the weekend, with the UN voicing concern over the killing of civilians and Israeli airstrikes. ‘Competing dynamics’ “As we have seen so many times throughout this conflict, we’re seeing really competing dynamics here: on the one hand, positive progress when it comes to the re-opening of Rafah, and yet over the past 24 hours, 30 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes during a ceasefire,” Sam Rose, Acting Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, told the BBC on Sunday. “At the same time, international organizations that are equipped and qualified and capable of doing work, which is urgently needed, are continuing to face major, major constraints.”  For this reason, Palestinians in Gaza are feeling “massive trepidation – hope that people will be able to get out, but real, real fear for the future,” he said. UNRWA remains on the ground delivering life-saving assistance in where “fear and uncertainty persist,” the agency said, noting that “access is limited, protection concerns persist, and humanitarian needs remain acute amid ongoing operational constraints.” Limited movement Reopening the Rafah crossing was an integral part of the 20-point peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump last September, with the ceasefire announced days later. For now, Israel will only allow some 50 Palestinians to enter and exit Gaza each day – and only on foot, international news agencies have reported. The crossing will be coordinated with Egypt and supervised by the European Union (EU), according to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA. Returns will only be permitted for residents who left during the war and after obtaining prior authorisation from the Israeli security services, being checked by the EU at the Rafah crossing point and undergoing a second identification and control process in a designated corridor managed by the Israeli army in an area under its control. Support for returnees OCHA welcomed the reopening of the key border crossing, underscoring that “civilians must be allowed to leave and return voluntarily and safely, as international law requires.” Over the weekend, the UN carried out an advance mission to assess road conditions. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is set to provide bus transportation for returnees from the internal checkpoint to Nassar hospital in Khan Younis, where several UN agencies and NGO partners have set up a reception area to provide them with support. The reception desk is staffed by psychologists and protection specialists, while food, information materials and internet connectivity are available. Medical evacuations Monday also saw the World Health Organization (WHO) supporting medical evacuation efforts.   Some patients and their companions were able to exit Gaza directly to Egypt, while others transited through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing Israeli authorities approved the travel of only five wounded patients from a list of 27 names submitted to both the Egyptian and Israeli sides, according to Palestinian sources.  Treatment beyond borders Families lined up in the courtyard of Al-Amal Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip to bid farewell to sick relatives, and their travel companions, heading to Egypt to complete their treatment.A UN News correspondent was on hand as buses began preparing to depart, carrying with them the hope that the wounded would return fully recovered. A young boy called Youssef Awad, who uses a wheelchair, was optimistic that he would be able to walk and play again. “I hope to travel for treatment and return walking like other children,” he said.‘Expedite the process’ Another injured child, Ahmed Iyad Abu al-Khair, sat in a wheelchair beside his father, Iyad, awaiting his turn in the medical evacuation convoy heading to the Rafah crossing.  Ahmed’s head was covered with a white bandage, and he appeared unable to move while his father tried to comfort him. “We hope that decision-makers and the World Health Organization will expedite the process and help us get my son Ahmed to travel to complete his treatment, as every hour he spends here affects his health.” Thousands still waiting  In a protest reflecting the extent of their despair, dozens of injured Palestinians staged a demonstration near the hospital, sitting in their wheelchairs and demanding an increase in the number of people allowed to travel daily which “should be in the hundreds” instead of 50. “We have been waiting for the crossing to open since the beginning of the war, and like many others, we have not been lucky,” said Farid al-Qassas, an injured man. “In this building alone, there are about 100 patients in need of medical referrals, and the number of wounded waiting to travel reaches about 13,000 patients and injured people. We hope that everyone will hear us and save what remains of these patients.”The last medical evacuation through the Rafah crossing was in May 2024.  Overall, more than 18,500 patients in Gaza, including 4,000 children, are still waiting to access treatment abroad. “The most effective option would be to resume referrals to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and rehabilitate damaged health facilities in Gaza,” OCHA said. Until then, UN Member States are urged “to accept more patients so that everyone receives the treatment that they need.” Aid delivery update The agency also stressed that “ultimately, essential humanitarian supplies must enter in sufficient quantities and with fewer restrictions through Rafah and other crossings.”  Between 23-29 January, at least 13,800 pallets of humanitarian aid managed by the UN and its partners were unloaded at crossing points. Nearly 60 per cent of these shipments contained food, but also shelter items, school supplies, health items, fuel and nutritional kits. Since the announcement of the ceasefire on 10 October, at least 272,000 pallets of humanitarian goods were unloaded, and 270,000 pallets were collected at the various crossing points.