UN, Red Cross demand opening of all Gaza crossings to allow in aid

GENEVA: The UN and the ICRC Tuesday called for all crossings into Gaza to be opened to allow desperately needed aid into the Palestinian territory.

Amid a truce in Gaza, under US President Donald Trump’s plan, needs to see crossings opened to flood the famine-hit territory with aid, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross called Tuesday.

“That’s what humanitarians, including ICRC, have been calling for in the last hours is making sure that, because of the huge needs, all entry points can be open,” Red Cross spokesman Christian Cardon told reporters in Geneva.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA’s spokesman Jens Laerke added: “We need all of them open.”

He acknowledged that not all of the crossings were currently “functional”, with some “partially destroyed”, while road clearance was needed inside Gaza to allow trucks in.

“We are calling for that to be repaired so that they can become operational,” he said.

“We’re advocating with everyone.”

On August 22, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, the first in the Middle East, after experts warned 500,000 people faced a “catastrophic” threat.

Laerke said Tuesday that the UN had 190,000 metric tonnes of aid waiting and ready to go into Gaza.