UN continues operations as situation in Gaza remains stagnant

United Nations

Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali

In a recent poll conducted by OCHA (The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Palestinians in Gaza have reported that since the agreed October 10th ceasefire, food access is the “same or worse.”

In response, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, reminded members of the press that Israeli authorities are limiting the organization’s opportunity to assist a larger number of civilians in need. Haq emphasized, “We’re reaching more places and so the access to food is improving gradually, but we need to get aid to a lot of people who need it. Therefore, we need a lot of different things, not just more crossing points open, but for example we need to make sure that all distribution points are working.”

In its latest updates on humanitarian operations within the strip, Haq signaled cautious hope, stating, “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the ongoing scale-up of the aid response is already having a positive impact on people in all areas of the Strip. But much more is needed so that we can address the full scale of the needs and leave no one behind.”

“Just this Saturday,” he added, “the UN and our partners collected nearly 200 truckloads of essential supplies from Israeli crossings along the perimeter fence that encircles Gaza. Among the supplies were nearly 1,900 metric tonnes of different food supplies and wheat flour and over 100 pallets of food boxes. The supplies also included over 1,000 pallets of mattresses, blankets, tents, tarpaulins, and winter clothes. And they included nearly 300 pallets full of hygiene kits, buckets, water containers, and jerry cans; 50 pallets of fortified cereals; and some 200 pallets of dignity kits, menstrual health kits, and midwifery supplies.”

Despite the slight optimism surrounding large-scale humanitarian operations resuming throughout the decimated enclave, conditions of the ceasefire remain uncertain, fragile, and subject to sudden shifts on the ground. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported today that Hamas has released another three deceased Israeli captives, with Israel releasing five more Palestinian prisoners as well as the remains of 45 other Palestinians.

Sources indicate that Hamas are still looking for the remains of eight more deceased Israeli captives, receiving operational and logistical support from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Palestinian group, with the help of Egyptian equipment and engineering crews that have managed to get inside the occupied zone, is now searching in the Shujayea neighborhood in eastern Gaza City for the second consecutive day.

With the introduction of an International Stabilization Force laid out in Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan, Turkiye hosted the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia to discuss the matter over a high-level summit.

In a joint statement, Turkey’s Foreign Minister stated, “We do not want the genocide to restart in Gaza, we want the ceasefire to continue, and we want steps to be taken toward a two-step, permanent peace solution.” The Turkish Foreign Minister would also stress the grave importance of a comprehensive and clear definition of the ISF and its mandate within the devastated Gaza Strip. Fidan would state to members of the press after the high-level summit in Istanbul, “What the countries we’ve spoken with have said is this: they will decide whether or not to send troops based on the content of the definition in the resolution expected from the UN Security Council.”

With Haq and the Secretary-General maintaining that the Security Council resolution and its mandate rest on the responsibility and will of member states, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of November, told Sphinx News today, “We are ready to work with any member states that would put forward a resolution on the stabilization force.”