The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states conditions for aid distribution in Gaza remain “far from sufficient” to meet overwhelming needs. While acknowledging the use of Israeli-declared daytime “tactical pauses” in some areas to deliver aid, the UN stressed these pauses alone “do not allow for the continuous flow of deliveries required to meet Gaza’s immense needs”.
OCHA detailed significant procedural hurdles, explaining that for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing – a barricaded area – Israel must approve the mission, provide a safe route, issue multiple permits, halt bombardments, and finally open barriers. The agency reported deaths from starvation and malnutrition occurring even during the four days of tactical pauses, with “desperate and hungry people” crowding the limited aid trucks that manage to get through.
Furthermore, OCHA warned that current fuel deliveries are “insufficient to meet basic needs” and represent merely “a drop in the ocean”. In a separate incident, medical sources in Gaza reported to Al Jazeera that at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks since dawn today.