UN: Gaza Aid Still Far Too Slow as Israel Restricts Crossings Despite Ceasefire

UN: Gaza aid still far too slow despite ceasefire

Although some food and other supplies have reached Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, the United Nations says the territory — devastated by sustained bombardment and facing severe hunger — remains in urgent need of a much larger humanitarian response.

Aid deliveries and access constraints

The UN and its partners report having delivered about 37,000 metric tonnes of aid, mostly food, into Gaza since the October 10 ceasefire, but officials say that is far short of the needs on the ground. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other agencies warn that many areas remain inaccessible and that the flow of assistance is being restricted.

“Despite significant progress on the humanitarian scale-up, people’s urgent needs are still immense, with impediments not being lifted quickly enough since the ceasefire,”

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that humanitarian deliveries are currently limited to only two crossings — al-Karara (Kissufim) and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom). He added there is no direct access into northern Gaza from Israel or into southern Gaza from Egypt, and that some NGO staff continue to be denied access to parts of the Strip.

Humanitarian consequences

Earlier in the week the UN said it had distributed food parcels to about one million people since the truce began, but warned the distribution remains a race to save lives. The World Food Programme has urged that all crossing points be opened so aid can flow into areas facing famine and mass malnutrition; it says no explanation has been provided for why northern crossings with Israel remain closed.

Palestinians across Gaza continue to suffer shortages of food, clean water, medicine and other life-saving supplies. Many families also lack adequate shelter after homes and neighbourhoods were heavily damaged or destroyed during what UN agencies describe as a two-year military campaign.

Chris Gunness, former spokesperson for UNRWA, told Al Jazeera that blocking aid could amount to a war crime, and warned that tens of thousands of Palestinians — particularly children — remain at risk of malnutrition. He urged that Israel either fulfil its obligation "to flood the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid" or that third-party states intervene to prevent further deterioration.

Security incidents, demolitions and casualties

The October 10 ceasefire — based on a U.S.-brokered 20-point framework — temporarily halted large-scale hostilities, but both sides report breaches. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli strikes have continued in some areas and Israeli forces remain in more than half of the territory. The enclave's Ministry of Health reports that more than 220 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began.

Israel has also carried out demolitions in areas east of the so-called "yellow line" where its forces remain deployed, including residential buildings east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera reporters on the ground.

Captives, bodies and ongoing disputes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that Israel received from the Red Cross the remains of one of the last six captives held by Hamas. The Israeli military said the coffin crossed into Israel and was taken to a Tel Aviv forensic facility for identification.

At the start of the truce, Hamas’s armed wing released all 20 surviving captives. In exchange, Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and returned bodies of slain Palestinians from Gaza; some of those bodies showed signs of torture, UN and media reports said.

Of 28 deceased captives that Hamas agreed to hand over under the deal, 22 have been returned so far — 19 Israelis and three foreign nationals (one Thai, one Nepali, one Tanzanian), not including the most recent transfer. Hamas says delays are caused by the challenges of searching vast mounds of rubble and the need for proper equipment to recover remains. It estimates that some 10,000 Palestinians killed in bombardments remain buried beneath rubble.

Overall human toll

Available counts indicate that more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed during the two-year conflict. UN agencies and humanitarian partners continue to press for expanded access, unimpeded aid deliveries and protections for civilians as relief operations scale up.