The United Nations has reported that Israeli forces are systematically impeding access to individuals in need in Gaza, creating challenges in delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, stated during a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that conducting medical evacuations and aid deliveries in northern Gaza has become unfeasible. The spokesperson added that humanitarian operations in the southern part of Gaza are also facing escalating difficulties.

On Sunday, a @UN and @PalestineRCS convoy evacuating 24 patients from Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis was blocked for over seven hours by Israeli forces despite prior coordination.

🔊 Our spokesperson @JensLaerke reads the latest statement by the Humanitarian Country Team. 👇

— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) February 27, 2024

“Aid convoys have come under fire and are systematically denied access to people in need, (meaning) humanitarian workers are subject to unacceptable and preventable risk,” Laerke said.

Humanitarian agencies providing aid to Gaza reported that even convoys that have received prior clearance from Israeli authorities have been consistently obstructed or targeted with gunfire.
 
“Despite prior coordination for all staff members and vehicles with the Israeli side, the Israeli forces blocked the WHO-led convoy for many hours the moment it left the hospital,” the spokesperson said. 

Laerke highlighted an occurrence on Sunday, during which a convoy intended to evacuate 24 patients from Amal Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was impeded for seven hours and paramedics were detained.
 
The joint initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to organize the convoy faced obstacles. The convoy had to abandon 31 patients at Amal Hospital, which has ceased all operations after being targeted with 40 Israeli attacks in the past month alone.

“The Israeli military forced patients and staff out of ambulances and stripped all paramedics of their clothes,” Laerke said.

“Three PRCS paramedics were subsequently detained, although their details had been shared with the Israeli forces in advance,” he added. “This is not an isolated incident.”

Laerke expressed the UN's commitment to consistently remind Israeli forces of their obligation, at the very least, to ensure the "safe, smooth, and rapid passage" when notified about aid missions. 

Dive deeper

Two human rights organizations accused "Israel" on Monday of further restricting humanitarian supplies to Gaza, despite a UN top court judgment.

Exactly one month ago, the International Court of Justice in The Hague declared that "Israel" must do everything possible to avert genocide in the besieged region. The ICJ further emphasized the importance of taking "immediate and effective measures" to provide relief.

However, Amnesty International stated that Israeli authorities have "failed to take even the bare minimum steps to comply" with the ICJ verdict.

ICJ decisions are legally binding, but the court lacks an enforcement mechanism.

I also found this man collecting flour from the ground to feed his #starving children!#NorthernGazaStarving #StopGazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/FVDLsgYICw

— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) February 28, 2024

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the number of assistance trucks entering Gaza has fallen by around one-third since the verdict came out. 

Omar Shakir, HRW's "Israel" and Palestine director, has lately stated that the Israeli occupation was starving 2.4 million Gazans "putting them in even more peril than before the World Court's binding order."

The UN has repeatedly warned of an upcoming famine endangering everyone in Gaza, while the World Food Program this week expressed "unprecedented levels of desperation."

Read more: Documents show Israeli forces fired on UN food convoy in Gaza: CNN