A woman in Gaza carries blankets distributed by UNICEF.
This article is published in association with United Nations.
The UN and partners are pushing ahead with aid deliveries across Gaza despite new Israeli airstrikes and a faltering ceasefire, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday.
“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that their partners continue their scale-up efforts, despite reported Israeli airstrikes across the Strip,” he said, noting that some strikes hit areas near the so-called ‘Yellow Line’ – a buffer zone marked by the Israeli military inside Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement.
“We stress again that all parties must refrain from any activities that put civilians, including aid workers, at risk.”
Despite the insecurity, UN operations have managed to move significant volumes of relief into the enclave. According to the UN’s so-called 2720 delivery mechanism authorised by the Security Council, more than 24,000 metric tonnes of aid – including food, medicine, nutritional supplements and shelter materials – have been collected from Gaza’s crossings since the truce began several weeks ago.
Looting subsides
Encouragingly, looting and interception of aid have sharply declined. Between 10 and 28 October, only five per cent of supplies were intercepted, compared with around 80 per cent in the months before the ceasefire.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also delivered over 840 pallets of life-saving medical supplies, including insulin, surgical kits and essential medicines, and is supporting nutrition services to treat some 2,500 children.
But Mr. Dujarric warned that Gaza’s health system remains “under immense strain”, with the local Ministry of Health reporting that more than 1,700 health workers have been killed since the start of the war.
On education, agencies are working to restore “minimum teaching and learning conditions” for over 630,000 school-aged children who have missed more than two years of classes.
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Over 90 classrooms have been rehabilitated, though Israeli restrictions on educational materials continue to hamper efforts.
“We continue to call for all crossing points to be open and more UN agencies and organizations authorized to bring in aid supplies into Gaza,” Mr. Dujarric said.
Fragile window to resume food production
Despite catastrophic destruction across Gaza’s farmlands, the current ceasefire has created a fragile but vital window to revive food production, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and satellite agency UNOSAT said on Thursday.
New satellite analysis shows nearly 87 per cent of cropland, 80 per cent of greenhouses and almost 87 per cent of irrigation wells have been damaged since the start of the conflict. But the pause in fighting has opened access to 37 per cent of affected farmland – some 600 hectares of which remain undamaged – allowing farmers to begin rehabilitating their land.
“The ceasefire has opened a window of opportunity,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol. “Urgent support is needed to restore agricultural land and infrastructure, enable farmers to resume fresh food production, and rebuild fisheries and livestock so families can feed themselves again.”
FAO stressed that rebuilding food systems now could help stabilise livelihoods and prevent deeper hunger in Gaza.
However, its $75 million appeal to support recovery remains only 10 per cent funded, highlighting the need for swift international backing to seize this brief moment of hope amid widespread devastation.
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