The under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said Monday that two years on from the abhorrent 7 October attacks in Israel, the pain endures.
Fletcher renewed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for civilians everywhere to be protected. He recalled that tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and that hundreds of thousands endure starvation and displacement. He called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the free flow of humanitarian aid at scale – stressing that there is a glimmer of hope for change that we must keep alive.
On the ground, OCHA reports that Israeli military operations – including air strikes and shelling – continued across multiple areas, causing more civilian casualties, widespread displacement, and the destruction of critical infrastructure. Earlier Monday, a rocket was reportedly launched from Gaza towards Israel; no casualties or damage were reported.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of hostilities, destruction and mass displacement – with women and girls among those most at risk. The UN Population Fund and partners reported yesterday that incidents of gender-based violence in Gaza city surged by 26 percent between July and August, with rising cases of sexual exploitation, domestic violence and economic abuse. The renewed offensive in Gaza City has contributed to the collapse of referral systems for gender-based violence in the area, leaving women and girls without safe access to support.
Despite the challenges, partners responding to gender-based violence in Gaza city – many of whom are displaced and affected themselves – continue to deliver psychosocial support, case management and other services.
OCHA reiterates that humanitarian partners face severe physical and bureaucratic obstacles that prevent the delivery of life-saving assistance at the scale required. Complex authorisation and inspection procedures, limited clearance capacity at crossings, and unpredictable rejections of pre-cleared cargo by Israeli authorities continue to delay humanitarian movements and aid delivery. Inside Gaza, looting – including by armed actors – has further hampered humanitarian operations.
[Yesterday,] eight out of 20 missions coordinated by the UN with Israeli authorities were facilitated, including the collection of supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Four missions were cancelled by the organisers, and four missions were denied, which included the collection of food cargo that had entered Gaza. Four other missions were impeded on the ground – these included collections of food cargo from Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings, which were partially accomplished, as well as the collection of medical supplies, which was fully accomplished despite the impediments.
OCHA reiterates that for a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations, additional crossing points must be opened, and restrictions on the entry and movement of humanitarian aid inside Gaza must be lifted without delay. Currently, a limited number of humanitarian organisations and UN agencies are authorised by Israeli authorities to bring in aid supplies – a limitation that continues to undermine the scale-up of response efforts.
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