Gaza Aid Deliveries Hampered By Israeli Denials, UN Says

(CTN News) – Aid teams trying to respond to immense needs in northern Gaza have been paralyzed by Israeli denials and severe access restrictions, the UN humanitarian affairs office warns.

According to the latest update from OCHA, the rate of access denials by Israel this month has deteriorated significantly since December. According to the report, three out of 21 planned food, medicine, water, and other lifesaving items were delivered between January 1 and 10.

Israeli checkpoint delays forced partners on the ground to cancel or delay missions in two instances.

Humanitarian partners are unable to meet extensive needs in northern flank due to recurring denials of access for aid deliveries and lack of coordinated safe access from Israeli authorities, according to OCHA.

Multiple planned missions this week to deliver medical supplies to Gaza City and fuel to water and sanitation facilities there and in the north have been denied by Israel.

As a result, hospitals in northern Gaza lack life-saving supplies and equipment since 26th December.”

Six times, fuel delivery has been refused, leaving people without clean water and increasing the risk of sewage overflows.

The rate of access denials in January is significantly lower than in December 2023, when 70 percent of planned UN missions (13 out of 18) took place in areas with the greatest and most severe needs,” OCHA said. As a result, “every day that assistance is missed results in lost lives and suffering for hundreds of thousands of Gazans.”

OCHA reported that 193 trucks carrying supplies crossed the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings into Gaza on 10th January. As part of a cash-for-work pilot program run by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, 100 workers have been paid to support the cleaning of solid waste and sanitation at Al Quds University in north Gaza.

There were further civilian casualties and destruction as a result of Israeli air, land and sea bombardments on January 9.

Across much of the enclave, Palestinian armed groups also continued to fire rockets into Israel, and ground operations and fighting between the sides were reported.

OCHA cited Gaza health authorities, who said 147 Palestinians were killed on January 9 and 243 injured. A soldier was reportedly killed during the same period in Gaza, according to Israel. One of the ambulances of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was struck on 10th January, killing four staff members and two injured people.

Since the conflict began on 7th October, 23,357 Palestinians have died, and 59,410 have been injured, according to Gaza officials. There were over 1,200 deaths and over 200 hostages taken in Gaza during the attacks on southern Israel, which sparked the hostilities.

As a result of the ground operation, 184 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,076 injured, according to the Israeli military.

1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza, or nearly 85 percent of the population, with many families uprooted more than once. Over 1.7 million Palestinian refugees are now sheltering in UNRWA facilities.

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