LOC15:55
12:55 GMT
GENEVA, Oct 14 (KUNA) -- United Nations agencies on Tuesday called for the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza stressing that the quantities entering the Strip remain far below the massive needs of its population despite the ceasefire agreement.
This came during a press conference held in Geneva where (UNICEF) spokesperson Ricardo Pires warned that "the situation on the ground in Gaza does not reflect the optimism that followed the announcement of the temporary truce".
He emphasized that the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Strip is still "wholly insufficient" to meet the population's enormous needs.
Pires explained that although there has been some relative improvement in the freedom of movement for humanitarian teams inside Gaza the widespread destruction of infrastructure means that at least 600 aid trucks per day are required a target the United Nations is striving to reach. "The current reality" he said "remains far from that goal."
He added that the UN has more than 1.700 trucks loaded with life-saving supplies for children waiting at the border to enter the Strip but bureaucratic procedures and restrictions at the crossings continue to slow down the delivery process.
For his part the spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jens Laerke said humanitarian workers are now able to move more freely inside Gaza and reach previously inaccessible areas.
However he noted that logistical restrictions and extensive destruction still hamper the delivery of aid to those in need.
Laerke pointed out that the UN currently has 190.000 metric tons of aid ready for distribution across the region stored in Jordan the West Bank Egypt and Cyprus. He stressed that OCHA is working to accelerate the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza but does not have full control over when the crossings will open.
He underlined that the opening of all crossings is an urgent humanitarian necessity explaining that some such as (Kerem Shalom) were damaged and need repair before becoming operational again.
Laerke also confirmed that Israeli occupation authorities had opened the (Kerem Shalom) crossing on Sunday to allow aid trucks through but closed it again today citing Jewish religious holidays as the reason. (end)
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