Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing border on January 17.
Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa/Getty Images
Only seven out of 29 aid missions planned by humanitarian agencies to Gaza were granted access by the Israeli military in January, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report Sunday.
There is a “significant increase” in the rate of denials by the Israeli military of access to areas north of Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza area, compared to previous months, OCHA said.
Compared to previous months: Between October and December 2023, only 6 out of 43 (14%) of the missions planned north were denied, and the rest facilitated.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on OCHA’s statistics.
Between Saturday and Sunday, some 325 truckloads of food, medicine and other supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah and the Kerem Abu Salem/ Kerem Shalom border crossings. Approximately 500 commercial and aid trucks per day were being let into Gaza before October 7.
Where things stand: Only 15 bakeries across Gaza are operational, six of which are in southern Gaza and nine in the central area, OCHA said, adding that there are no functioning bakeries in northern Gaza.
There are sixteen hospitals that are still partially functioning across Gaza, including nine in southern Gaza and seven in the north, OCHA said.
In southern Gaza, three hospitals – Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah, and Nasser and Gaza European hospitals in Khan Younis – are “at risk of closure due to the issuance of evacuation orders in adjacent areas and the ongoing conduct of hostilities nearby,” OCHA said.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has been functioning to a “limited degree” since mid-January, OCHA said.