HAMILTON, Canada

The UN said Tuesday that Israel's "tactical pauses" have slightly reduced hostilities in the Gaza Strip, but are not sufficient to meet the urgent humanitarian needs, as aid volumes remain critically low.

"We are collecting more supplies at the crossings and bringing more in from outside to restock," spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news conference, stressing that the pause is "not significantly enough in times and areas where these are meant to apply."

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Haq reported that "the volume of goods coming in is still far from enough."

"OCHA reminds us that commercial imports need to resume sooner, rather than later," he said, and "no humanitarian operation can fully support 2.1 million people on its own, and for people to feel reassured that aid is flowing regularly, tactical pauses won't cut it."

"What's desperately needed is a full permanent ceasefire," Haq stressed.

Israel said Sunday it allowed limited airdrops of aid into Gaza and declared a "tactical pause" in certain areas to permit aid deliveries.

Haq noted that movement restrictions by Israel remain a major challenge. "Yesterday, all attempts were initially approved, but only half of them were fully facilitated," he said.

"That’s five out of 10. The remaining five movements faced impediments on the ground. Two of them could nevertheless be accomplished, and three could not be accomplished fully or at all," he added.

Responding to Anadolu's question on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's denial of starvation in Gaza, Haq said: "We have provided all the facts that are necessary to draw conclusions. We've been pointing out the massive amount of hunger, and you'll have seen the extremely sobering IPC report."

"There can be no denial about the fact that immediate action is needed, and it is needed at a large scale to prevent further hunger and further starvation," he said.

The UN World Food Program echoed the alarm Tuesday, calling the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Gaza not a “warning” but an urgent “call to action.”

The global hunger monitoring body said Gaza is facing “the worst-case scenario of famine” due to continued military operations, widespread displacement and the collapse of access to food and basic services.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.