(MENAFN) The United Nations reported on Friday that humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip remains heavily constrained by Israeli restrictions, even after the ceasefire, leaving the majority of the population without adequate relief. Only a small portion of Gaza’s farmland—around 13%—remains undamaged, and most of it cannot be reached.

Referring to information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a press briefing that "despite significant progress on the humanitarian scale-up, people's urgent needs are still immense, with impediments not being lifted quickly enough since the ceasefire."

He noted that "as of this Monday, the UN and our partners have collected from Gaza's crossings more than 37,000 metric tons of aid, mostly food," but emphasized that "entry continues to be limited to only two crossings with no direct access from Israel to northern Gaza or from Egypt to southern Gaza." Haq added that “certain items and NGO staff” are still being denied entry.

Highlighting the dire conditions of those displaced, Haq said that "most displaced people remain in overcrowded makeshift sites, many of which were established spontaneously in open or unsafe areas," while "local food production remains challenging."

He also cited UN assessments showing that "only 13% of cropland in the Gaza Strip has not been damaged, and most of it remains inaccessible because it is located in areas where the Israeli military remains deployed." The same analysis indicated that "between 79 to 89% of greenhouse areas, agricultural wells and farming infrastructure have been damaged" and "nearly 89% of orchard trees, especially olive trees, have been damaged, or in most cases, destroyed."

According to reports, Israeli attacks since October 2023 have killed nearly 69,000 people—most of them women and children—and left more than 170,600 injured.

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