Published On 17/10/2025
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Last update: 10:57 (Mecca time)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called on Friday for an unlimited flow of aid to Gaza, at a time when Israel continues to obstruct the arrival of relief materials and heavy equipment to the Strip.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the flow of aid to Gaza should not be restricted to the agency and international non-governmental organizations.
In a statement published earlier on its account on the X platform, UNRWA said that almost all agricultural land in Gaza is destroyed or inaccessible.
She added that the families who used to live from their lands now have no income, noting that people cannot afford the reappearance of food in the markets.
UNRWA called for a wide flow of aid until the agricultural sector in Gaza is rebuilt.
Jonathan Fuller, Director of Communications at UNRWA, confirmed yesterday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is still catastrophic, and stressed the need to significantly increase the volume of aid to meet the enormous needs of the Palestinians trapped inside the Strip.
Since the cessation of war agreement entered into force a week ago, Israel has allowed the entry of only half of the agreed-upon aid.
The agreement was supposed to allow 600 trucks loaded with aid to enter the Gaza Strip daily, and to open the Rafah crossing, where thousands of trucks were waiting on the Egyptian side.
Increase aid
In New York, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his demands to open the crossings and increase aid and the scope of its distribution in the Gaza Strip.
The representative of the United Nations Development Program in Palestine, Jaco Sellers, also told Al Jazeera that removing rubble and solid waste is one of the biggest challenges facing the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations and other international organizations confirm that they have enough aid for Gaza for three months, a large portion of which is on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
In addition to food, international organizations are calling for the opening of medical corridors abroad, given that thousands of sick and injured Palestinians during the war need treatment abroad.
In this context, the Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir Al-Bursh, in statements to Al Jazeera, called for the speedy introduction of aid to hospitals to save the lives of the wounded and sick.
Yesterday, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that dozens of trucks loaded with basic food supplies entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings.
However, Israeli occupation forces continue to prevent the entry of certain types of goods, including meat and poultry.
Rafah crossing
On the other hand, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the Rafah crossing is likely to open the day after tomorrow, Sunday.
Sa’ar added, in statements he made yesterday evening during the Mediterranean Dialogue Forum in the Italian city of Naples, that Israel is making all necessary preparations for that, and that coordination is being made with the European Union for that step.
Prior to that, the Office of the Coordinator of Israeli Army Activities in the Palestinian Territories said that preparations were being made to open the Rafah crossing for the movement of people, in full coordination between Israel and Egypt.
The crossing was scheduled to reopen the day before yesterday, Wednesday, in accordance with the first phase of the cessation of war agreement between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel, which took effect a week ago.
Since May 2024, Israel has occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, destroyed and burned its buildings, and prevented Palestinians from traveling, which plunged them, especially the sick, into a major humanitarian crisis.