UN expresses regret over attempts to block entry of aid to Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The UN reported that fewer trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday than expected, as families of Israeli hostages tried to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid.

During a briefing in Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing were delayed for several hours due to Israeli protests aiming to block the aid entry.

"So, the day before yesterday, trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing were held up for several hours by Israeli protesters attempting to block the entry of humanitarian aid as a result, only nine trucks were able to enter," he told.

Laerke noted that many other aid trucks were forced to reroute to the Rafah crossing in Egypt, adding that the OCHA regretted the incident.

"We regret that the outcome was that there were less trucks than we had expected," he noted, adding that crossings had since resumed at Kerem Shalom.

Families of Israelis held captive by Hamas attempt to block the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

The families demand the release of dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 26,083 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 64,487 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.