Humanitarian needs in Gaza deepen as aid access remains constrained

The UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said, amid mounting pressures on aid delivery and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

“Families face ongoing hardship” as access to essential aid remains limited and many continue living in overcrowded shelters and damaged homes, UNRWA outlined. 

Stocks of tents, bedding items and other essential supplies are depleting rapidly, with some humanitarians buying what they can from local markets – clothing, bedding, basic kitchen items – according to the UN agency responsible for coordinating humanitarian relief, OCHA.

The United Nations continues to deliver critical assistance, despite the “shrinking supplies due to increased restrictions since the regional escalation began,” OCHA underscored. 

More than 400,000 litres of fuel were successfully collected on Tuesday, while UN aid teams and partners working in water, sanitation and hygiene collected seven truckloads of supplies from Kerem Shalom.

Aid bottlenecks 

The Kerem Shalom crossing remains the only operational crossing through which humanitarian and commercial cargo can enter the Strip.

“This is not sustainable, as both the humanitarian and the commercial sectors are subject to the same bottleneck at the Kerem Shalom crossing,” OCHA said.

“While the recent Israeli announcement that Rafah will reopen has not yet been implemented, the UN stands ready to resume medical evacuations and support people returning to Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq. 

The UN continues to call for safe, unhindered humanitarian access to ensure that those in need receive the support they urgently need.

Fears of growing impunity

Warning of a dangerous normalisation of the situation in Gaza, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, said “impunity reigns and disproportionate actions are being normalised amid the escalating conflicts in the Middle East.”

“It is a vicious circle: the more violations, the stronger the culture of impunity becomes…failing to call out abuses and allowing the law of the strongest to prevail will rebound across the globe.”