UN 'urgently calls on Israel to open up' North Gaza to humanitarian operations

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Monday issued an urgent call to Israel to allow humanitarian access to North Gaza, highlighting the "massive needs."

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that "access to North Gaza governorate is still extremely limited. Over the weekend, the UN was unable to access the area."

Expressing worry over the "fate of Palestinians remaining in North Gaza," the spokesman reiterated that UN "urgently calls on Israel to open up the area to humanitarian operations at the scale needed, given the massive needs".

Dujarric also shared a new report by OCHA, saying that "in October, humanitarian organizations submitted 50 requests to the Israeli authorities to enter North Gaza Governorate, 33 of those requests were rejected outright, and eight were initially accepted, but then faced impediments along the way."

"Attempts to coordinate the evacuation of an injured UN staff member from the Jabalya area was also denied, with Israeli authorities suggesting that this person could attempt to be carried out on foot by relatives waving white flags to identify themselves," he said.

Dujarric further noted that 85% of coordinated movements to the north via Wadi Gaza checkpoint were either denied or impeded by Israel.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last year by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 43,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.