UN says movement of humanitarians in Gaza improving

The humanitarian movement in Gaza has improved in recent days, with teams now able to “reach areas that were previously cut off,” the UN humanitarian affairs office said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the situation on the ground remains “very fluid,” but that there are signs of progress.

“I have evidence from our colleagues on the ground who say that humanitarians are now able to move more easily in many areas,” Laerke said. “Teams are reaching people in places that have previously been cut off.”

“So movement restrictions inside Gaza are clearly better now than they have been in the past,” he said, noting that teams are using the opportunity to pre-position supplies and deliver as much assistance as possible.

According to OCHA, over the weekend, 310,000 individual movements of people, mostly from southern to northern Gaza, were recorded, along with an additional 23,000 movementsin other directions.

Laerke also addressed the entry of humanitarian aid, noting that while a scale-up is planned under the 20-point ceasefire plan, its implementation has not yet begun.

He added that 190,000 metric tons of aid are currently positioned across the region, including in Jordan, the West Bank, and Egypt, awaiting approval for delivery into Gaza. That figure marks an increase from the 170,000 metric tons reported previously.

Laerke said the UN remains determined to expand operations despite uncertainty over when large-scale aid deliveries will begin, emphasizing: “We need this scale-up. We won’t stop until we get it.”