The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as civilian needs mount
Amid calls for more humanitarian trucks to enter the food and medicine-deprived Palestinian enclave of Gaza, UN humanitarians have received permission from Israel for “around 100” more aid trucks to cross into the Strip after only five were let in yesterday, But the scale of relief efforts allowed remains entirely insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there, humanitarian workers say.
“Not enough. Five trucks, nowhere near. Not enough,” said Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for the UN relief and works agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), in reference to the number of trucks that could cross on Monday. She was speaking to journalists in Geneva from a warehouse full of ready-to-be-delivered supplies in Amman, Jordan, with enough food to feed 200,000 Palestinian civilians for an entire month.
“Everything around me is aid that is supposed to be in the Gaza Strip right now,” explained Louise Wateridge, as warehouses and distribution centers lay empty in Gaza.
“Look at what the UN could do,” she continued. “We've done it: the ceasefire, the bombs stopped, the supplies went in. We reached every area of the Gaza Strip. We reached people who needed it most. We reached children. We reached the elderly. The supplies went everywhere,” Ms. Wateridge said, pointing to the UN’s ability to reach civilians if in the Strip with life-saving aid if only the access is granted and the security situation allows.
Five aid trucks still under Israeli control, OCHA
Since 2 March, Israel has blocked all shipments of basic humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, from entering Gaza. World leaders and humanitarian agencies condemned and pressured Israel to lift the siege.
After an 11-week full blockade that has brought the territory to the brink of famine, Israel cleared nine aid trucks on Monday to cross the Kerem Shalom border, but only five of them actually managed to enter Gaza, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Four were unable to enter for logistical reasons, as shipments must pass through several levels of Israeli checks.
“The five trucks that entered are still under Israeli control,” Mr. Laerke said. “We need permission to pick the aid up. That did not happen yesterday. However, this morning we do have the permission to collect those five trucks,” he reported.
The trucks from the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) carried urgently needed baby food and nutritional supplements for children. Once the aid onboard is collected, it will be distributed through the existing system “that has proven itself”, said Mr. Laerke.
“Simply use the existing system, which used to function very well,” echoed Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health. “It's really sad to see that inside Gaza, there's a shortage of medicine when the medicine we have outside Gaza is expiring. That's really not acceptable,” he said.
As aid is scarce, desperation is on the rise in Gaza, with “several predictable effects,” according to OCHA. “One is that the insufficient supplies are at greater risk of being looted,” Mr. Laerke said. Looted products end up being sold at exorbitant prices on the black market, and opening access for large quantities of aid would automatically reduce the looting and improve the security situation, he said.
In the face of mounting international objections over the total blockade imposed in March, and condemnation over the risk of widespread famine, Israel started on Monday to allow limited quantities of aid to trickle in, while simultaneously increasing its military activities in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say that hundreds of people have been killed in attacks over the last few days.
“We reiterate our call, first and foremost for a ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages and let the UN and partners do their work. There was a plan and it delivered. There is a plan, and it will deliver,” added Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
Israeli military operations in Gaza were triggered after the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages. Fifty-eight hostages are still captive in Gaza, of which 23 are believed to still be alive. The conflict has devastated Gaza, displacing almost all its two million inhabitants. According to the health ministry in Gaza, the offensive has killed at least 53,475 people, most of them women and children.
Ends --
Story: “Gaza health update – OCHA, UNRWA, WHO” – Tuesday 29 May 2025
Speakers:
- Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson (from Amman)
- Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson
- Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health
- Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT)
TRT: 03’01”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 May 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson: “Not enough. Five trucks, nowhere near. Not enough. And the follow up would be the evidence of the ceasefire: look what the UN could do. We've done it: the ceasefire, the bomb stopped, the supplies went in. We reached every area of the Gaza Strip. We reached people who needed it most. We reached children. We reached the elderly. The supplies went everywhere.”
- Medium shot: speakers at the podium in the press conference room.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “Yesterday there were nine trucks that were cleared for entry. Out of those nine, five of them actually crossed into Gaza.
- Cutaway: lateral shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “The five trucks that entered are still under Israeli control, and we need permission to pick it up. That did not happen yesterday. However, this morning we do have the permission to collect those five trucks.”
- Medium lateral shot of the press conference room and control room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer and Spokesperson: “Everything around me is aid that is supposed to be in the Gaza Strip right now. It is really a stark reality from the warehouses that we have in Gaza. Even just this morning, I was looking at footage from colleagues. Everything is empty: the warehouses, the distribution centers, they've been empty for weeks.”
- Wide shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health: “It's really sad to see that inside Gaza, there is a shortage of medicine. Outside Gaza, we have medicine and it is expiring. That's really not acceptable. So, simply use the existing system, which used to function very well.”
- Wide shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “Past experience has very clearly showed that the less aid you get in and the less there is properly distributed in Gaza, the more desperation arises. And that has several effects, predictable effects. One is that the insufficient supplies are at greater risk of being looted.”
- Medium shot: speakers at the podium in the press conference room.
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT): “We reiterate our call, first and foremost for a ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages and let the UN and partners do their work. There was a plan and it delivered. There is a plan, and it will deliver.”
- Wide shot of the press conference room and control room.
- Various close shots of journalists at the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WFP
Aid agencies warned on Friday of the fast-developing humanitarian emergency inside Taiz City in Yemen, which has been encircled by de facto Houthi forces fighting government troops along the country’s west coast.
2
17
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | OCHA , WMO
Two UN agencies teamed up on Wednesday to issue an appeal for immediate assistance to help communities already being impacted by the strongest El Niño on record.
3
16
2
2
Edited News , B-roll , Conferences , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Sixth Consultative Meeting on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives and Efforts for Sudan
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , UNHCR
Yemen war continues to force families from homes amid hunger and disease
More than 250,000 people have now fled renewed fighting in Yemen, the UN said on Tuesday, citing particular concern for those sheltering in the southwestern city of Taiz and the wider governorate, where access is “essentially blocked”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.