UN official pushes for more aid crossings in Gaza

Tom Fletcher, the humanitarian chief of the UN, has made a statement pushing for Israel to provide more crossings that aid can pass through into Gaza, the BBC reported on October 15th.

The humanitarian chief’s comments follow the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10th. Despite the current ceasefire arguably marking the closest Gaza has come to peace and political stability in years, the history of failed ceasefires that have existed between the two groups has led to prolonged fears concerning the end of peace efforts. This fragile sense of respite has been felt amongst Palestinians, who are reportedly stockpiling food as prices surge and mass starvation risks worsening in Gaza, at any point that the ceasefire fails to hold.

Although humanitarian aid has been entering Gaza and providing Palestinians with much needed food, water and medical supplies, most of the crossings that aid passes through are controlled by Israel. Israel threatened to block aid supplies through crossings after Hamas reportedly violated part of the ceasefire deal, in which the group failed to return the bodies of all 28 dead hostages by October 13th.

Hamas claims to have struggled to locate the remains of some of these hostages, only handing over seven bodies to Israel at this current time, with efforts being made to return two more hostages remains.

On the other hand, peace is also threatened by reported violence against civilians in Gaza by Israeli forces. It was reported on October 15th  that Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, another clear violation of ceasefire terms. Furthermore, a Palestinian activist documenting the ongoing civilian violence in Gaza was killed by Israeli-backed militia.

Fletcher, took to X to share his concerns on the situation, urging Hamas to do whatever they can to return all of the bodies of the hostages, as agreed in the ceasefire negotiation. Fletcher also commented on Israel’s stifling of aid at crossings: “As Israel has agreed, they must allow the massive surge of humanitarian aid – thousands of trucks a week – on which so many lives depend, and on which the world has insisted. […] Withholding aid from civilians is not a bargaining chip.”

As the fragile Gaza ceasefire continues, doubts relating to the history of violence can only be affirmed; both sides have broken parts of the deal, signalling that political stability is still highly delicate in Gaza.

BBC, Maghrebi.org