HAMILTON, Canada

The UN said Thursday that more than 40% of humanitarian aid delivery missions in the Gaza Strip were blocked, impeded or denied by Israel in the last week.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that "humanitarians' movements continue to be delayed and impeded."

"Although fewer missions have been outright denied by the Israeli authorities, approved movements still take hours to complete, with teams having to wait on roads that are often dangerous, congested or impassable," he said at a news conference.

From Aug. 27 - Sept. 2, there were 86 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements with Israel across Gaza, of which 50 were facilitated, about 58%, Dujarric said.

"More than a quarter, 22 missions, were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, while five movements were denied and nine had to be cancelled by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons," he added.

He noted that facilitated missions included fuel deliveries, staff rotations and the collection of medical and water supplies.

"Denied movements included missions aiming to retrieve nutrition supplies, inspect a dumpsite to expand solid waste operations and repair roads to ensure safe passage of trucks along routes," he said.