UN teams were initially restricted to a congested, insecure area, delaying distribution [Getty]
The UN confirmed Wednesday that it had collected and begun dispatching around 90 truckloads of aid into Gaza, marking the first aid arrival in the besieged Palestinian territory since early March.
Three days after Israel announced it would allow in limited aid, the United Nations on Wednesday “collected around 90 truckloads of goods from the Kerem Shalom crossing and dispatched them into Gaza,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.
Israel had previously announced the entry of the UN humanitarian trucks — loaded with flour, baby food, medical supplies and other provisions — but none of the supplies had left the loading zone at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they must be reloaded onto other trucks in the Gaza Strip.
Dujarric had said earlier Wednesday this was due to Israeli authorities only allowing UN teams “to go through one area that was highly congested, that we felt was insecure and where we felt looting was highly likely to take place, given the prolonged deprivation in Gaza.”
Nevertheless, he expressed hope that the first trucks will be able to bring the goods to UN warehouses before being distributed to the Gaza population, which is under severe threat of famine.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Monday that the trucks allowed in were “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”
During the 42-day ceasefire at the beginning of the year, 4,000 aid trucks entered Gaza each week, according to the UN.
Prior to the war about 500 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza on a daily basis.
