As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza spirals towards what aid agencies are calling a “total collapse,” the United Nations today issued an urgent and desperate plea to Israel, revealing that the equivalent of 6,000 truckloads of life-saving aid are currently stalled outside the besieged enclave, awaiting access. The UN and its partners are imploring Israel to lift bureaucratic and security impediments, warning that mass starvation and disease are now rampant among Gaza’s population.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), painted a grim picture on Thursday, stating that “people in Gaza are neither dead nor alive – they are walking corpses.” He detailed alarming statistics, including that one in every five children in Gaza City is now malnourished, and more than 100 people, predominantly children, have reportedly died from hunger.
“We at UNRWA have stocks of hygiene supplies, including diapers for babies and for adults waiting outside the gates of Gaza,” Lazzarini stressed, emphasizing that the agency has 6,000 trucks loaded with food, medicines, and hygiene supplies currently blocked in Jordan and Egypt, unable to enter the Strip.
The UN’s desperate appeal comes amid escalating accusations of blame between the UN and Israel regarding the bottleneck of aid. Israel maintains it allows sufficient aid to enter Gaza, often pointing to trucks amassing on the Gazan side of the border and accusing the UN of failing to collect and distribute it.
However, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric vehemently rejected these claims on Wednesday. “To collect supplies that have reached any of the Israeli crossings around Gaza — all of which are fenced off and heavily guarded — drivers need multiple access approvals as well as a pause in the bombing and for the iron gates [at the crossing] to slide open,” Dujarric explained. He further stated, “We have to be allowed to come in with our own trucks. The goods have to switch from one truck to another. It’s a very lengthy procedure.”
Dujarric cited “tremendous bureaucratic impediments,” “tremendous security impediments,” and a “lack of willingness to allow us to do our work.” He also highlighted the grave danger faced by civilians attempting to access aid, noting that “all too often, civilians approaching our trucks are shot at or trampled while trying to get food.”
Humanitarian organizations, including over 100 aid and human rights groups that issued a joint statement this week, have denounced Israel’s “siege” of Gaza, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the lifting of all restrictions on aid flow. They argue that the UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, but has been “prevented from functioning.”
The organizations have also heavily criticized “military-controlled distribution models” and the “drip feeding of aid,” which they say are ineffective and dangerous. The UN Human Rights Office confirmed that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while attempting to secure food, often near aid distribution sites.
For the over two million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the lack of access to basic necessities is causing widespread suffering. Prices for essential goods have skyrocketed, and critical medical supplies are running out, with UNRWA reporting nearly 60% of essential medicines are now unavailable.
The international community continues to watch with growing alarm. The UN reiterates its demand for reliable assurances that troops would not engage or be present along aid routes, and for all land crossings to be opened. As children die of starvation and the humanitarian system collapses, the fate of Gaza’s population hinges on immediate and unhindered access for the aid that sits tantalizingly close, yet tragically out of reach.