OCHA: Convoys continue to face hurdles to deliver aid to people in need – Press Release

31 July 2025

OCHA warns that hostilities continue, including multiple airstrikes on residential buildings in Gaza that have reportedly killed entire families. A high number of additional fatalities and injuries have been reported among those trying to secure food and other essential supplies for their families. That is over the past few days.

Meanwhile, amid deepening starvation, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies from outside. UN teams are doing this every single day through multiple missions.

OCHA says that, despite Israeli announcements regarding the designation of convoy routes as secure, trucks continue to face long delays that expose drivers, aid workers, and crowds to danger. The long waits are because a single route has been made available for UN teams exiting Kerem Shalom inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route.

In recent days, the teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings. But OCHA warns that, under the current conditions, much of the food is taken by people en route, rather than reaching community-based distribution points where those at highest risk of death due to malnutrition can be prioritized, alongside older persons, women, those with illnesses or disabilities and other groups.

OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes. To ensure no one is left behind, aid must be distributed at the community level.

OCHA continues to coordinate humanitarian movements across most of the Gaza Strip with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, OCHA published cumulative figures covering the week between last Wednesday and this Tuesday. Out of 92 attempts to coordinate aid movements, nearly 16 per cent were outright denied. An additional 26 per cent were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground; and in many cases this resulted in missions being aborted or partially accomplished. Another 47 per cent were fully facilitated, and the remaining 11 per cent had to be withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons.

OCHA stresses again that unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential. Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the medical evacuation of 47 patients and 129 companions from Gaza, despite the ongoing challenges to humanitarian operations and access constraints. Patients travelled to Spain, Türkiye, France, Norway and Jordan. In a social media post, WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus noted that over 14,000 patients in Gaza still need urgent care.