UN Reports No Humanitarian Aid Distributed in Gaza Despite Limited Access
The humanitarian crisis intensifies as the UN highlights the lack of aid distribution following an Israeli blockade.
On May 20, 2025, the United Nations announced that no humanitarian aid has been distributed in the Gaza Strip to date, following Israel's recent permission for the resumption of limited humanitarian supplies after an 11-week blockade.
Experts have warned of an imminent famine in the region.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that four trucks carrying children's food were unloaded on the Palestinian side of the border on Monday.
Subsequently, a limited number of trucks carrying flour, medicines, food supplies, and essential materials entered Gaza.
Dujarric informed journalists that Israeli authorities required the unloading of supplies on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, with instructions to reload them once a team from within Gaza confirmed their arrival.
One of the UN teams reportedly waited several hours today for Israeli approval to enter the Kerem Shalom area to gather food supplies, but unfortunately, they could not transport these supplies to their warehouses.
Earlier today, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that the UN had received Israeli consent for approximately 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the aid shipments approved by Israel as "a drop in the ocean."
Israel has declared its intention to intensify military operations against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and to take control of the entire Gaza Strip, which has experienced widespread destruction due to ongoing Israeli air and ground military campaigns since October 7, 2023. The Israeli government asserts that the purpose of its blockade is to prevent Palestinian militants from diverting and seizing humanitarian supplies, a claim that Hamas has disputed.
In addition, a U.S.-backed organization aims to begin operations in Gaza by the end of May to oversee a new model for aid distribution in the Palestinian territory.
However, the UN has expressed that the plan lacks neutrality and integrity and has stated it will not partake in the initiative.
Experts have warned of an imminent famine in the region.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that four trucks carrying children's food were unloaded on the Palestinian side of the border on Monday.
Subsequently, a limited number of trucks carrying flour, medicines, food supplies, and essential materials entered Gaza.
Dujarric informed journalists that Israeli authorities required the unloading of supplies on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, with instructions to reload them once a team from within Gaza confirmed their arrival.
One of the UN teams reportedly waited several hours today for Israeli approval to enter the Kerem Shalom area to gather food supplies, but unfortunately, they could not transport these supplies to their warehouses.
Earlier today, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that the UN had received Israeli consent for approximately 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza.
Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the aid shipments approved by Israel as "a drop in the ocean."
Israel has declared its intention to intensify military operations against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and to take control of the entire Gaza Strip, which has experienced widespread destruction due to ongoing Israeli air and ground military campaigns since October 7, 2023. The Israeli government asserts that the purpose of its blockade is to prevent Palestinian militants from diverting and seizing humanitarian supplies, a claim that Hamas has disputed.
In addition, a U.S.-backed organization aims to begin operations in Gaza by the end of May to oversee a new model for aid distribution in the Palestinian territory.
However, the UN has expressed that the plan lacks neutrality and integrity and has stated it will not partake in the initiative.
