HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Monday emphasized the severely difficult situation in the Gaza Strip, as its attempts to deliver tents to those in need were repeatedly rejected.

Citing the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric warned at a news conference that "the humanitarian situation remains very difficult, with many people struggling to access the basics they need to survive."

Recalling the recent heavy rains in the enclave, Dujarric said the "humanitarian teams carried out a rapid assessment of impacted areas over the weekend and provided some initial aid."

"Since October 10, at least nine attempts by the United Nations and our partners to bring in tents have been rejected," he noted.

He said partners working on the food security report that "with the volume of food parcels entering Gaza having increased in recent days, they plan to resume the distribution of two food parcels and one bag of flour across the strip."

However, Dujarric also noted that distribution in northern Gaza has recently been limited and said: "Earlier this last week, distribution in the North had to be limited to high-energy biscuits and one bag of flour because partners working to bring supplies were facing impediments, including the deprioritization of humanitarian cargo at crossings, customs clearance delays, and a lack of access to northern crossings."

Highlighting the scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric said teams have "cleared 100,000 tons of debris since the ceasefire came into effect," but added that "nearly 58 million tons of debris and rubble remain spread across the Gaza Strip, and only half of that amount is currently accessible."