Israel denied half of aid movement requests in Gaza over weekend: UN

The UN on Monday reported that Israeli authorities denied half of the coordinated aid movement requests in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, severely hampering critical humanitarian operations, Anadolu reports.

“On Saturday and Sunday, we and our partners attempted to coordinate 16 humanitarian movements, but half of them were denied outright, hindering the trucking of water and fuel, the provisions of nutrition services and the retrieval of bodies,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

Saying that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to face major access challenges, particularly for fuel shipments into the north, Dujarric said: “OCHA stresses that Israeli authorities need to facilitate movements of fuel in sufficient quantities into and throughout Gaza.”

He further noted that displacement orders remain in effect across much of the enclave.

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“Just today, the Israeli authorities issued another such directive, this time for two neighborhoods in Khan Yunis, including two hospitals, Al Amal and Nasser Hospital,” said Dujarric.

While Israeli officials clarified the hospitals are not required to evacuate, Dujarric said the new designation is still impacting critical care access.

“OCHA says the designation is nonetheless hindering access to those critical facilities, both for patients who need help and for medical staff who need to treat those patients,” Dujarric noted.

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