The United Nations said that its teams attempted to coordinate eight humanitarian missions last week and five were fully facilitated.
By Nathan Morley
The United Nations has said that its teams attempted to coordinate eight humanitarian missions, with five fully facilitated and three denied by Israeli authorities, including an effort to reach a water treatment plant in Khan Younis.
The missions that went ahead collected food and medical supplies from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing. UN teams also monitored humanitarian cargo at the Kissufim and Kerem Shalom loading platforms.
Four months have passed since the cease-fire agreement took effect in Gaza.
UN officials say the humanitarian scale‑up has saved countless lives and pushed back famine, but conditions remain severe and access restrictions continue to impede operations.
The UN reports that nearly 1.5 million people — roughly two in three Palestinians in Gaza — are sheltering in 1,000 displacement sites across the territory, many in tents. Hundreds of families are living in damaged buildings that remain at risk of collapse.
Humanitarian agencies continue distributing tents, tarpaulins, mattresses, clothing and other supplies, reaching more than 85,000 families in January alone.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, a senior Palestinian official condemned Israel’s latest expansion of administrative control, calling it a serious setback for peace efforts.
Israel’s security cabinet last week approved major changes to the long‑standing division of authority in the territory, altering arrangements established under the U.S.-brokered Oslo Accords signed three decades ago.
The measures extend Israeli authority beyond its military occupation into areas previously administered by Palestinian institutions, including municipal services in Palestinian‑run zones. They also grant broad powers to take over what Israel describes as “heritage sites,” citing the need to protect water, environmental and archaeological resources.
Asma al‑Sharabati, acting mayor of Hebron, told British radio that the new framework would exclude Palestinian officials from planning and development decisions, even in areas nominally under Palestinian control.
