The UN on Tuesday pressed for urgent shelter aid and equipment to be allowed into the Gaza Strip as a brutal winter approaches, and most of the population remains displaced due to Israel’s war on the Strip.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General stressed that aid into the Strip must come in at a much quicker rate before the onset of harsh conditions and dropping temperatures.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Haq said that while aid is trickling slowly into the Gaza Strip, many areas remain hard to reach and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
He added that so far, only 300 tents and 14,700 blankets have been distributed to displaced and needy families in Khan Younis.
The aid provided to the Gaza Strip however does not nearly match the needs of the population of over 2 million. Over 85 percent of buildings in the enclave have either been flattened or are partially destroyed.
Israel has only allowed 984 aid trucks into Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect ten days ago, even though the agreement stipulated that 600 should be allowed in a day to provide the bare minimum of aid needed by the population.
The World Food Programme said this week that aid deliveries into Gaza remain significantly below the target of 2,000 tonnes per day, adding that only around 750 tonnes of food enter Gaza daily.
Tens of thousands of people in the enclave remain without food, medicine and shelter.
The comments from Haq come as the International Court of Justice said on Wednesday that Israel must allow the UN agency UNRWA into Gaza, to help provide aid to the population, who have survived two years of genocidal bombardment.
The court said that Israel "is under the obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA".
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 68,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and completely devastated the enclave.