UNRWA Says Israel still blocking Gaza aid despite ceasefire

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Israel continues to block the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire that came into effect last Friday.

In a statement on Wednesday, UNRWA said Israel has prevented the agency from delivering food and other essential supplies to Gaza since March 2, and that the restrictions remain in place even after the truce was announced.

The agency said it currently has thousands of truckloads of humanitarian goods ready to enter the territory — enough to meet Gaza’s food needs for three months — along with shelter materials for 1.3 million displaced people affected by months of Israeli aggression and destruction.

UNRWA, which employs about 12,000 staff in Gaza, making it the largest humanitarian provider in the enclave, warned that prolonged restrictions threaten to worsen already dire living conditions.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it has no updated data on the number of aid trucks that have entered Gaza since the ceasefire began.

Under the truce agreement, Israel is required to permit 600 trucks of aid per day into Gaza. However, the Gaza Government Media Office said only 173 trucks have entered since the ceasefire took effect — “a quantity that does not meet even the minimum needs of the population,” it said.

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