UN Warns of Setbacks in Gaza Despite Historic Peace Agreement

United Nations

Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali

With Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan agreed upon by both Hamas officials and the Israeli administration, reports on the ground remain volatile, and humanitarian aid to the decrepit Gaza population remains heavily restricted.

On Monday, October 13th, United States President Donald Trump traveled throughout the Middle East to celebrate a deal that he believes will promote “a new Middle East.” Making his first stop in Tel Aviv, the U.S. President addressed the Israeli parliament (the Knesset), where he spoke of a deal that will “end an age of terror and death and [begin] the age of faith, hope, and of God.”

The U.S. President painted his peace deal, agreed upon by both parties, as a monumental one that has been supported steadfastly by many heads of state and the Secretary-General himself. In his remarks before attending the Gaza Peace Summit on Monday, to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the Secretary-General welcomed the proposal. The spokesman for the SG relayed the following: “He commends the governments of Qatar, Egypt, the United States, and Türkiye for their persistent mediation efforts and acknowledges the indispensable role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in ensuring that all releases take place safely and humanely. With the ceasefire in effect, the people of Gaza and Israel are beginning to glimpse the fragile hope of calm after months of devastation. The United Nations and its partners are rapidly scaling up operations across Gaza.”

Referred to by the Secretary-General and largely mentioned in the proposed agreement, which both Hamas and Israel have consented to, the peace plan would see the United Nations play a major role, along with other international institutions, as pivotal to the large distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the famine-ridden Gaza Strip. The WFP (World Food Program), along with Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, massively welcomed the development, claiming that there are 190,000 metric tons of humanitarian aid ready to be distributed to Palestinians in need. Clarified today by Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response at WFP, he said, “190,000 metric tons is possible to provide for all of Gaza for three months.”

Despite the summit being seen as the official day for peace within the conflict, as well as the UN’s intent to mobilize and provide such aid, the beginning days of the peace deal have shown the contrary. In the latest updates, the UN Human Rights Office for Palestine revealed today on X: “Since 10 October, at least 15 Palestinians have been shot and killed in areas near remaining Israeli troops.” Additionally, the Human Rights page stated, “The Israeli military continues to control over 50% of Gaza while hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to areas from which they were displaced.”

With the spokesman for the Secretary-General mentioning today, “No information on UN troops going into Rafah crossing,” among the continued violence and militarization of the Strip is the ongoing restriction of humanitarian aid. Described by the spokesman as “sensitive times within the fragile deal,” the large exchange of hostages and detainees between both Hamas and Israel is speculated to be the leading cause of this stagnation. As of today, the International Committee of the Red Cross has stated that Israel has handed over the bodies of 45 more Palestinians, bringing the total returned to 90. Hamas has also released a statement saying it has reached its initial commitment under the peace deal and released all living hostages (20 to be exact) to the Israeli authorities. On the dead hostages, however, the group stated, “As for the remaining bodies, they require significant efforts and special equipment to search for and retrieve them, and we are making great efforts to close this file.”

As the hostage and detainee exchange remains underway, UN officials reveal it has massively halted large-scale humanitarian aid operations throughout the Strip. The latest on the ground by Tom Fletcher reveals these major setbacks. He stated today, “Earlier this week, we were able to kick off our humanitarian scale-up after months of frustration and blockages. Food, medicine, fuel, water, cooking gas, and tents got through to those who need them.” As of yesterday, however, Fletcher reported halts in implementation, condemning the development and further mentioning, “As Israel has agreed, they must allow the massive surge of humanitarian aid—thousands of trucks a week—on which so many lives depend and on which the world has insisted.”

The spokesperson for the Secretary-General echoed this concern with more nuance. He mentioned today to reporters, “As of yesterday, the Kerem Shalom crossing was closed for us on Monday, with priority given to the exchange-based trailing hostages and Palestinian detainees, which meant that no cargo could be offloaded.” The spokesman went on to say, “Limited supplies could be collected yesterday. Both crossings remain closed. Our teams were unable to collect cargo from those crossings inside Gaza to support health, water, sanitation, and food operations.”

The United Nations, on top of its inability to distribute large-scale aid, remains gravely concerned about the ongoing violence in Gaza aforementioned. The UN continues to stand ready for the unequivocal distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the Strip but remains a mere spectator until tensions die down.