DaysofPal- The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Israeli occupation to immediately reopen Gaza’s border crossings, warning that Israeli closure of the crossing is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation as the Israeli occupation wages war on Iran alongside the United States.
The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was imperative that all crossings resume operations as soon as possible.
Dujarric noted that humanitarian agencies inside Gaza have been forced to ration dwindling fuel supplies and scale back life-saving services due to the shutdown.
The Rafah crossing, located between Gaza and Rafah, had briefly reopened on February 2, allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave the enclave for the first time in months and enabling some to return.
The crossing, Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world that does not pass directly through the Israeli occupation, was closed again on Saturday after the Israeli occupation launched coordinated strikes on Iran, citing security adjustments.
Thousands of Palestinians requiring urgent medical treatment abroad remain unable to depart. The closure has also disrupted the entry of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of critically ill patients.
Late Monday, Israeli forces announced plans to reopen the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known in the Israeli occupation as Kerem Shalom, to allow the gradual entry of aid.
The crossing, situated at the junction of Gaza’s borders with the Israeli occupation and Egypt, had also been shut following the start of the Iran offensive.
The UN’s World Food Program expressed cautious optimism as regional director Samer Abdel Jaber said the reopening would be timely, stressing the urgent need to deliver supplies as quickly as possible.
Gaza relies entirely on fuel transported by truck from Israel and Egypt, where aid groups warn that continued shortages threaten hospital operations, water distribution, and sanitation services in the territory.
Since Israeli genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, tight border restrictions have severely depleted stocks of food, medicine, reconstruction materials, and clean water, compounding years of blockade and deepening humanitarian distress.
Separately, tensions have escalated in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli forces have kept the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound closed for a fourth consecutive day, preventing worshippers from entering and citing a state of emergency following the launch of military operations against Iran.
Israeli forces also conducted a second day of raids in the Askar refugee camp near Nablus, sealing entrances and searching homes.
Last month, the Israeli government approved a plan to designate large areas of the West Bank as state property if Palestinian ownership cannot be proven, drawing condemnation from more than 80 UN member states who described the move as contrary to international law and warned it amounted to de facto annexation.
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