United Nations Calls for Full Implementation of Gaza Agreement and Urgent Aid Delivery

The United Nations emphasized today, Friday, the need for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, confirming that life-saving shelter aid is not reaching Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on a wide scale due to the lack of urgent access and the restrictions imposed on it.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a press conference that it is essential to move to the second phase of the agreement and fully implement its provisions, contributing to stabilizing the ceasefire and improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

He confirmed that 1.6 million people in Gaza are expected to face extreme levels of acute food insecurity, as Israel prevents sufficient aid from entering according to the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10.

Guterres renewed his support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) amid the Israeli campaign it has faced for more than two years, stressing the necessity for Israel to respect the safety of United Nations staff in Gaza.

He added that progress must be made toward a two-state solution. He also pointed to the deteriorating conditions in the occupied West Bank, stating that tens of thousands have been displaced due to operations carried out by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank.

In a related context, the spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations, Avand Aziz Agha, said that Gaza residents need improved conditions to ensure access to clean water, sanitation services, and toilets, in addition to protection from living in cold conditions.

These remarks were made by Agha alongside World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Yasarievich during the weekly press conference of the United Nations Office in Geneva.

He pointed out that winter conditions, including heavy rains and storms causing floods in the destroyed neighborhoods and flooding tents, currently lead to increased exposure to diseases and place people at greater risk.

He called for urgent and unrestricted humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip, at a time when Israel does not allow tents and shelter materials to enter Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to live in dilapidated and primitive tents.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported that 1,092 patients died in the Gaza Strip while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and last November.

The ceasefire agreement was supposed to end the genocide, but Israel continues its violations, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian civilians killed or injured, in addition to breaching the humanitarian protocol related to aid and shelter supplies.