Merve Aydogan
22 May 2025•Update: 22 May 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
The UN on Thursday confirmed that almost 90 trucks loaded with aid have entered multiple locations in Gaza on Wednesday.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) during a news conference, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: "Yesterday, about 90 loaded trucks left the Kareem Shalom crossing to multiple destinations inside Gaza."
"They carry nutrition supplies, flour, medicines and other critical stocks that were allowed in," he said, and quoted UN relief chief Tom Fletcher's recent statement noting that humanitarians "continue to face huge challenges in getting goods out of the crossings to where they are needed in Gaza."
"This shipment is limited in quantity and nowhere near sufficient to meet the scale and scope of the needs of Gaza’s 2.1 million people," Dujarric said.
He further noted that "other supplies as basic as fresh food, hygiene items, water purification agents, and fuel to power hospitals have not been let in for over 80 days" by the Israeli authorities.
Saying that the UN is only allowed to bring in "nutrition products, some food ingredients, and medical supplies," Dujarric reported: "Of yesterday’s supplies, over 500 pallets with nutrition supplies were safely offloaded in UNICEF’s warehouse in Deir al Balah."
"This is nearly 20 truckloads. They include ready-to-use therapeutic food and lipid-based nutritional supplements. These life-saving supplies are now being unpacked and repackaged so that smaller loads can reach people in need via dozens of distribution points in Gaza," he said.
Noting that people in Gaza "still face a high risk of famine" due to nearly 80 days of a total aid blockade by Israel, Dujarric emphasized that "far more aid is needed across all of Gaza."
He reported that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification concluded its latest analysis that confirmed: “People across Gaza are at risk of famine, with nearly half a million people teetering on the edge of starvation."
"OCHA underscores that it is critical for Israeli authorities to facilitate the movement of humanitarian convoys, including from southern Gaza to the north so that all supplies can reach people in need wherever they are across the Gaza Strip," he said.
Dujarric also shared details on the Kareem Shalom crossing, and said UN teams "need to wait, often for hours, for military activities to pause, for their safety, and for a green light to be given by the Israeli authorities to proceed."
"We also need to ensure the use of secure routes from Kareem Shalom onward into Gaza, as we did last night and hope to do again today," he added.
The UN reported that the latest Israeli attacks "have struck tents and buildings where people are sheltering, causing scores of casualties,” said Dujarric.
Asked about reports of looting during aid distribution, Dujarric said: "We understand that the small number of trucks carrying flour were intercepted by residents and their contents removed."
"As far as I know, this was not a criminal act with armed men. It was what I've been referring sometimes as self-distribution, which I think only reflects the very high level of anxiety that people in Gaza are feeling, not knowing when the next humanitarian delivery will take place," he added.
