UN records highest number of Israeli checkpoints in 2 decades across occupied Palestinian territory

The UN on Friday reported that it has documented nearly 850 Israeli checkpoints, gates, and other physical obstacles across the occupied Palestinian territory, marking the highest number recorded in the past two decades, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Israeli closure of all crossings for incoming cargo is entered its 20th day, the longest shutdown since the 7th of October, 2023,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said at a news conference.

Noting that the latest Israeli closures of crossings are causing “devastating impact on people already facing catastrophic conditions,” Haq said that it is reversing the “progress made by the UN and our humanitarian partners during the first six weeks of the ceasefire.”

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), he warned that “humanitarian operations are now being severely hampered by hostilities.”

“Civilians, including aid workers and civilian assets, have come under attack. The UN is seeking concrete assurances for the safety of our staff and operations in Gaza, following the killing of six UN personnel and injury of several others this week, including in the attack on a clearly designated UN compound,” Haq said.

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He also reported that over 120,000 Palestinians have been displaced once again this week due to intensified attacks and new Israeli evacuation orders across the Gaza Strip.

“That’s about 6% of the surviving population,” Haq noted.

Stating that latest OCHA findings revealed “movement obstacles across the occupied territory,” he said that the findings “recorded nearly 850 checkpoints, gates and other physical obstacles, the highest number documented in any of the 16 surveys OCHA has conducted over the past two decades.”

“In just the past three months, three dozen new movement obstacles have been established, most of them following the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire in mid-January,” he said.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that had held since January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 injured in Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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