ISLAMABAD (PEN) : The United Nations has confirmed that no humanitarian aid has been distributed inside Gaza, despite aid trucks beginning to cross into the territory after an 11-week blockade.
Israeli officials reported that 93 trucks carrying essential supplies such as flour, baby food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs entered Gaza on Tuesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing. However, the UN stated that although the trucks reached the Palestinian side, the aid has not been delivered to those in need.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said a UN team waited several hours for Israeli clearance to access the area but was ultimately unable to transfer the supplies to their warehouse inside Gaza. “Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse,” he said.
Israel had agreed on Sunday to allow a “basic amount of food” into Gaza, where humanitarian experts have repeatedly warned of an impending famine. Yet, international pressure on Israel continues to grow amid concerns over the scale of aid permitted.
The United Kingdom announced it would suspend trade talks with Israel, condemning what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described as Israel’s “morally unjustifiable” military escalation in Gaza, calling the situation “intolerable.” Similarly, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would review its trade agreement with Israel in light of ongoing hostilities.
Dujarric described the aid operation as “complex,” noting that Israel required UN teams to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom and then reload them for separate delivery once Israeli forces secure UN access inside Gaza. He described the arrival of supplies as a positive but “a drop in the ocean of what’s needed,” underscoring that UN agencies estimate 600 trucks daily are necessary to address Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned on the BBC that thousands of babies could die if aid is not immediately allowed into Gaza. Fletcher said an estimated 14,000 infants suffering from severe acute malnutrition face life-threatening conditions within 48 hours if supplies are delayed.
When asked about this figure, UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) clarified it referred to the urgent need for nutritional supplements for an estimated 14,100 children aged six to 59 months expected to suffer acute malnutrition over the coming year, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.
UNOCHA spokesman Jens Laerke stressed the critical nature of the aid, saying: “We know for a fact that there are babies in urgent, life-saving need of these supplements. If they do not get those, they will be in mortal danger.”
Hamas-run Gaza health authorities reported last week that 57 children have died from malnutrition during the 11 weeks of blockade.
In the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Israel’s decision to allow some aid into Gaza, telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “We are pleased to see that aid is starting to flow in again.” While acknowledging that the volume was insufficient, Rubio said the decision marked a positive step.
Last Monday, the leaders of the UK, France, and Canada jointly called on Israel to “stop its military operations” and “immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.” The UK also announced sanctions targeting prominent Israeli settlers and settler-linked groups as part of its response.
The current conflict escalated following a cross-border attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry reports over 53,475 people killed, including 3,340 since the recent intensification of the Israeli offensive.
The situation remains dire, with the international community urging for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s population.
