Gaza food aid still far below target despite US-brokered ceasefire
She said access remains limited as "only two of the seven Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza are operational."
Food supplies to Gaza have increased since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect nearly two weeks ago, but the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warns that deliveries remain well short of what is needed to prevent famine across the enclave.
WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that about 750 metric tonnes of food are entering Gaza each day, less than half the agency's daily target of 2,000 tonnes.
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She said access remains limited as "only two of the seven Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza are operational."
According to the UN, even at these open crossings, many aid requests are routinely denied by Israel without explanation.
"To be able to get to this scale-up, we have to use every border crossing point right now. It's the only way we can save lives and push back on the famine in the north of Gaza," Etefa said, stressing that maintaining the truce mediated by US President Donald Trump was vital.
Abeer added that some nutrition supplies for children and pregnant women have reached northern Gaza, but not at the scale required.
"We haven't had large-scale convoys into Gaza City or to the north of Gaza," she said, noting that the agency has not been cleared to use the main north-south Salah al-Din road.
According to the WFP, the food delivered so far could feed about half a million people for two weeks, however, families are rationing their portions amid fears the fragile truce may collapse.
"They eat part of it, and they ration and keep some of the supplies for an emergency, because they are not very confident how long the ceasefire will last and what will happen next," Abeer said.
Trump's 20-point plan for ending the war calls for Israel to permit "full aid" into Gaza. An Israeli security official told Reuters that shipments were continuing through Karem Abu Salem and other crossings "in accordance with the plan," though he did not specify which ones.
The WFP has expanded its food distribution network to 26 centres, up from five last week, but the number remains far below its goal of 145, with most centres located in the southern and central regions, where access is relatively easier.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Rafah crossing with Egypt will remain closed until Hamas returns the bodies of Israeli captives.
On Tuesday, Hamas's Qassam Brigades announced it would hand over the bodies of two Israeli prisoners that were exhumed in the Gaza Strip, bringing to 13 the number of bodies handed over under the ceasefire deal.
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