Humanitarian access to northern Gaza hampered by coordination challenges with Israel: UN

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Tuesday emphasized the escalating difficulties faced by humanitarians in Gaza, noting the challenges in coordination with Israeli authorities.

"In addition to the loss of warehouses and other humanitarian premises due to evacuation orders, it remains difficult to move around the south of Gaza due to the severe overcrowding and continuous displacement," Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesman, told reports during a news conference.

He further stressed the complexities of accessing northern Gaza, saying: "The access of humanitarian partners to northern Gaza is particularly challenging as it requires coordination with the Israeli authorities and passage through an internal checkpoint."

Dujarric said that efforts to deliver fuel to hospitals in the region have been thwarted repeatedly, with "access denied five times in the past week" by Israel, leaving some hospitals without new fuel supplies for over 10 days.

"The dependency on fuel to run back-up generators is complete as the Israeli authorities cut electricity provision from the Gaza Strip back in October," he added.

Asked about specifics to the challenges with aid delivery, Dujarric said: “We know through the north of Israel into northern Gaza, there's been an easier flow of trucks. The challenge remains, Karim Shalom.”

"While aid may be deposited from the Israeli side onto the Gaza side, the security situation doesn't allow us free access," he added.

When asked about any reason given by Israelis for the denials to fuel trucks trying to get to hospitals, Dujarric said: "As far as I know, reasons are often not given."

Separately, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concern over the increasing exposure of civilians to deadly attacks.

It reported that five Palestinians in Nur Shams refugee camp were killed in an Israeli drone strike, with over 30 Palestinians killed this month alone.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 40,400 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 93,600 others since Oct. 7, 2023.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.