UN calls on Israel to fulfil obligations as Gaza aid remains blocked

The humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza is not getting to civilians in need, the United Nations has said, urging Israel to fulfil its legal obligations.

"The aid that is getting in is not getting to the people, and that's a major problem," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told a media briefing in Geneva on Friday.

He highlighted the role of the Israeli authorities at their Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory since the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed by the Israeli military on May 7.

"We continue to insist that Israeli authorities' obligation under the law to facilitate delivery of aid does not stop at the border," said Laerke.

"It does not stop when you drop off just a few metres across the border and then drive away, and then leave it to humanitarians to drive through active combat zones — which they cannot do — to pick it up," he said.

"We need that safe and unimpeded access to get to the drop-off point so we can pick it up and get it to people. We want all parties to live up to their obligations under the law."

Israel's Gaza invasion

Israel started its bloodiest-ever Gaza war after Palestinian resistance group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's invasion has killed at least 36,224 people in Gaza, mostly children, women and elderly, according to the health ministry in the enclave.