UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, says that it has sufficient food supplies outside Gaza to sustain the population for three months, but Israeli authorities are still blocking its entry despite the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna told UN News that with its unparalleled aid distribution network, the agency must be the backbone of the enhanced relief effort, and if Israel continues to exclude them it would mean "a loss of people's trust."
"We see absolutely no justification for Israel not allowing this massive amount of aid - which cost tens of millions of dollars - into the country."
He said there are still around 12,000 staff working inside Gaza, including some 8,000 teachers who are working to allow 640,000 students to resume their studies following two years of lost education.
Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund stated that it has more than 1,300 truckloads of life-saving supplies ready to move, emphasizing that humanitarian needs remain immense.
In a social media post on Thursday, UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram described the ongoing challenges faced by relief teams as they await access to deliver critical assistance.
UN aid coordination office OCHA said supplies from Egypt still need to take a long detour to the Kerem Shalom crossing for Israeli checks, pending the opening of the Rafah crossing to aid.
Relief chief Fletcher stressed the need for all the crossings to be open to allow for a massive scale-up in aid.
"The humanitarian community cannot deliver at the scale necessary without international NGO presence and engagement," said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing the media in New York.
"Currently, the Israeli authorities do not issue visas for a number of international NGOs and do not authorize many of them to send supplies into Gaza."
At the same time, Dujarric pointed to some specific improvements in UN aid delivery: "On Tuesday alone, 21 of our partners distributed nearly 960,000 meals through 175 kitchens. Bakeries that we support produced more than 100,000 two-kilogram bread bundles. UNICEF distributed more than one million baby diapers."
The World Health Organization has been able to deliver three truckloads of surgical and other essential medical supplies to the central pharmacy in Gaza City which will be transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital, serving the needs of around 10,000 people.
WHO has also deployed an international emergency medical team to boost orthopedic surgery and trauma care in Gaza.
UN teams have finished clearing main roads leading to the Erez and Zikim crossings in the shattered areas of northern Gaza in anticipation of their potential re-opening.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher made his way to Rafah on the southern Gaza border, from the Egyptian capital Cairo, describing the main Rafah crossing as a "vital lifeline for food, medicine, tents and other lifesaving aid."
He told BBC Radio 4 that the role of the "collective international community" was essential for aid delivery, adding that he was in very close touch with the White House "who are determined that we are allowed to deliver at scale."
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.