UN confirms 90 aid trucks entered Gaza after three-day delay | World News
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday that over 90 lorry loads of humanitarian aid—including flour, ba food, and medical equipment—had entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The deliveries, collected Wednesday night, marked the first major convoy to move after a three-day delay attributed to security concerns.
The aid dribution began promptly, with several bakeries restarting operations using newly delivered flour. The delay followed an 11-week-long blockade, partially lifted Israel earlier in the week.
Despite the breakthrough, UN officials warned that the supplies delivered fall far short of Gaza’s urgent needs. “This is nowhere near enough to meet the vast needs in Gaza,” said a UN spokesperson. Prior to the conflict, Gaza received an average of 500 aid trucks per day.
Story continues below this ad
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that half a million Gazans are at risk of starvation. The Palestinian Authority’s Health Miner, Majed Abu Ramadan, told Reuters that at least 29 children and elderly people have recently died from “starvation-related” causes.
Thousands of trucks ready but stalled
Workers unload cargo from a truck carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the offload area of the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza. (AP Photo)
The World Food Programme (WFP) said over 140,000 tonnes of food—equivalent to 6,000 truckloads—are currently ready to be delivered. This could feed the entire population for two months, a WFP official told the BBC. However, delivery remains constrained security risks and limited access.
Antoine Renard, a WFP official, explained that the only approved route into Gaza places aid workers at risk of attack. “Each truck full of flour is worth about $400,000 at current market prices inside Gaza,” he said. The WFP avoids using armed escorts and is urging for a longer aid window and ceasefire to ensure safe passage.
Israel plans to pass UN aid system
Israel has defended its aid restrictions, accusing Hamas of diverting supplies.Story continues below this ad
On Thursday, Prime Miner Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated these claims and announced that Israel, with US support, plans to pass the UN using American firms to deliver aid directly.
Netanyahu said construction of the first dribution sites is underway. Humanitarian organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), have rejected the plan, warning it risks politicizing aid and breaching humanitarian principles. “A trickle of trucks is woefully inadequate,” the ICRC said.
Israeli airstrikes and ground operations continued across Gaza. The Hamas-run health minry reported 107 deaths in the past 24 hours. More than 81% of Gaza is now designated an evacuation or militarized zone, the UN estimates.Story continues below this ad
Nearly 600,000 people have been displaced since March, with 161,000 of them fleeing in just the past week.
The current conflict began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since killed at least 53,762 people in Gaza, including more than 16,500 children, according to Gaza’s health minry.
(With inputs from BBC)
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Expand
