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Alsharq Tribune-Ahmad Essam
The U.N. humanitarian office reported that “Israeli authorities continue to deny U.N.-led efforts to reach people with vital assistance,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday.
He said U.N. efforts are “seriously constrained” by fighting, armed looting of aid convoys, Israeli access restrictions, road damage, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages and a lack of telecommunications equipment, as reported by AP.
Tom Fletcher, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said aid agencies have been mobilizing to scale up aid delivery across Gaza.
In a statement, Fletcher called for the protection of civilians and infrastructure, authorization for aid workers to have safe and “unfettered” access to people in need, and “removing all obstacles to the entry of essential aid.”
OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko, in an email, said, “We can only deliver as much as the conditions on the ground allow for us to do so.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, emphasized that, “The surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin. And the innocent people can have a greater access to these vital supplies.”
Egypt, Qatar, and the US, who have mediated a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas for months, affirmed their commitment as guarantors of this agreement to ensure that both parties fully implement all three phases.
The guarantors will also coordinate with the United Nations, donor countries, and partners worldwide to support a rapid and sustainable increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza under the terms stipulated in the agreement and the established mechanisms for implementing it.
Earlier, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi welcomed the ceasefire agreement to end the 15-month-old war in the Gaza Strip, praising "the strenuous efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and the US spanning more than a year" to reach this outcome.
In tandem, an Egyptian security source confirmed that coordination is underway to open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the strip.
