UN and partners ready to scale up humanitarian response in Gaza

10 October 2025

OCHA says that the announcement of a ceasefire has generated a new hope for relief at last.

Yesterday, partners in Gaza reported that Israeli tanks had blocked Al Rashid road along the coast after people attempted to move north. Today, within minutes of the announcement by Israeli authorities that the ceasefire had taken effect at noon local time, thousands of people resumed movement north – mainly on foot, but also in vehicles and animal-drawn carts.

Some of the people who have already managed to reach Gaza city reported that they arrived back to find their homes had sustained further damage.

The UN and its partners stand ready to scale up the humanitarian response immediately. As the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, noted yesterday, in order to deliver on this plan, the humanitarian community needs the opening of additional crossings, safe movement for aid workers and all other civilians, the unrestricted entry of goods, visas for staff, and the space for the UN and its NGO partners to operate, in line with humanitarian principles.

As Fletcher outlined, the humanitarian community has 170,000 metric tons of supplies – including food and medicine – all cleared and ready to move into Gaza, with much more aid already in the pipeline. During the first 60 days of the ceasefire, the aim is to increase the volume of incoming supplies to hundreds of truckloads every day.

After two years of war, the rehabilitation of infrastructure in Gaza is urgently needed to enable recovery. The private sector is also critical. OCHA appeals to all leaders backing the ceasefire to help secure the conditions to carry out unimpeded humanitarian operations. It is also essential that Member States extend their generous funding for the response so that the humanitarian community can scale up, given the level of needs*.

OCHA stresses that all parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Aid must flow at scale in order for the UN and its partners to reach everyone in need and alleviate people’s suffering.

Yesterday in Gaza, humanitarian teams deployed an ambulance, helped prepare a low-lying area for the winter, and collected fuel, medical items and other critical supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they also offloaded incoming supplies to replenish stocks that will enter in the coming days.