UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said humanitarian teams have continued collecting food and fuel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, but aid operations remain constrained because all other cargo crossings into Gaza remain closed and restrictions on certain supplies continue.
According to UN data, the volume of aid entering Gaza declined during June. Humanitarian agencies and their partners were able to bring in fewer than 42 000 pallets of supplies, down from approximately 46 600 pallets in May.
Dujarric said logistical challenges remain significant even for shipments that have already received approval. Last week, only 42% of supplies arriving from Egypt and 65% of supplies arriving through Israel’s Ashdod Port could be unloaded at Kerem Shalom.
The UN warned that the reduced flow of aid is further straining humanitarian operations at a time when needs remain extremely high across the enclave.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also expressed growing concern for children in Gaza, where more than 1 000 days of conflict have left many without adequate nutrition, healthcare and protection.
UNICEF Spokesperson Louise Wateridge said children have endured extraordinary suffering throughout the conflict. “Children have been killed, maimed, displaced, and deprived of the essentials that they need to survive, grow, and recover,” she said.
According to reports cited by UNICEF, more than 60 000 children have been killed or injured since the conflict began. The agency also noted that despite the ceasefire announced in October, an average of one child has been killed every day for more than eight months.
Wateridge said many children in Gaza have spent their entire lives surrounded by war. “Children in Gaza have taken their first steps through rubble, spoken their first words against the deafening sounds of bombs and strikes, and they’ve known nothing but war, displacement, and loss,” she said.
She stressed that childhood should not be defined by conflict, hunger and instability.
Meanwhile, concerns are also growing in the occupied West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian in the Qalandiya refugee camp near Jerusalem on Sunday. Two other children were reportedly wounded in the incident.
OCHA called for the protection of Palestinian civilians and accountability for violations of international law.
Separately, the UN human rights office reported the death of a four-month-old infant in the Ramallah area after Israeli forces allegedly prevented access through a gate blocking the main entrance to the child’s village, delaying urgent medical treatment.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights described the incident as part of a broader pattern of restrictions affecting Palestinians living under occupation.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
