UN says that tactical pauses do not allow for adequate aid to enter Gaza

The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (Ocha) said on Wednesday that tactical pauses do not allow for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid required to meet the immense needs levels in Gaza.

Israel launched daily pauses in its military operations in some parts of the Gaza Strip this week to enable UN agencies and other aid groups to distribute food in the densely populated territory of more than two million.

Ocha warned that four days into Israel's tactical pauses, deaths from hunger and malnutrition were still occurring, as were casualties among those seeking aid.

"Desperate, hungry people" continue to offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it said in a statement.  

Ocha also said fuel deliveries were nowhere near what is needed to keep health, emergency, water, and telecommunications services running in the besieged Palestinian territory. 

"Current fuel entries are insufficient to meet life-saving critical needs and represent a drop in the ocean," it also added in a statement.

"While the UN and its partners are taking advantage of any opportunity to support people in need during the unilateral tactical pauses, the conditions for the delivery of aid and supplies are far from sufficient," the agency continued.

"For example, for UN drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing - a fenced-off area - Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter."