Gaza Faces Looming Offensive, Aid Workers Restricted

UNOPS staff visit a hospital in Gaza.

Hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are intensifying as a devastating ground offensive looms, creating only a limited opportunity for humanitarians to bring in shelter items, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported on Tuesday.

Over the past 24 hours in Gaza, there have been further reports of casualties from shootings along aid convoy routes, where desperate crowds of civilians often wait to collect supplies from the back of trucks.

Meanwhile, hostilities are escalating, with air strikes and shelling reported across five neighbourhoods in Gaza City, alongside accounts of tanks and ground troops advancing.

UN and partner officials in Gaza warned on Monday that the Israeli offensive would lead to further mass displacement and “have a horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of the basics needed for survival.”

Starvation continues to persist in the enclave as supplies remain insufficient and largely inaccessible.

OCHA also reported that new requirements for international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are preventing many humanitarian partners from bringing supplies into Gaza.

To secure registration and bring in materials, international NGOs must share sensitive personal information about Palestinian employees—often contrary to their countries’ domestic legislation—compromising their ability to protect civilians.

The UN and its NGO partners stressed that their teams will remain in Gaza City to provide life-saving support, reminding parties of their obligation to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, and to safeguard humanitarian infrastructure.

“Every day and every night, aid workers in Gaza courageously put themselves in harm’s way to keep others alive. At the same time, they also struggle to feed themselves and their own families,” said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, during Tuesday’s daily press briefing in New York, marking World Humanitarian Day.

“The world cannot look away while attacks on aid workers and on the very people they try to help have become routine.”

The humanitarian community welcomed the Israeli announcement that tents and shelter equipment would be allowed into Gaza, aiming to use this lifting of the ban to bring in tents, shelter materials and other vital items. However, the UN and partners expressed concern that this decision was tied to the looming offensive.

They called for a significant scale-up of private sector operations and full facilitation of deliveries from local and international humanitarian organizations, with supplies allowed to enter through all crossings.