UN concerned over holding of Gaza ceasefire, aid challenges

UN humanitarians on Monday expressed concern over the holding of the Oct. 10 Gaza ceasefire and the obstacles to aid distribution.



"The ceasefire agreement -- which has crossed the 100-day mark -- must hold so that more civilian lives can be saved," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "The scale-up of humanitarian work continues to be held back by restrictions and impediments, with recent harsh weather also setting back some of the progress."



The concern followed OCHA's latest twice-weekly Gaza Humanitarian Response Situation Report, published Friday. It said Gaza's health authorities reported that 14 Palestinians were killed and 23 others injured in the preceding 48 hours, bringing the casualty toll to 463 dead and 1,269 injured since the start of the ceasefire.



The World Food Programme warned of how fragile the situation remains, even as the agency reaches more than 1 million people every month through food parcels, bread bundles, hot meals and school meals. It called for additional safe humanitarian corridors from Egypt and Jordan and along the Salah Ad Din road inside Gaza, to increase volume and reduce insecurity.