![Palestinians, including children, who are struggling with hunger wait in line to receive meals distributed by charities while the humanitarian crisis is increasing as Israel continues to attack the Gaza Strip by breaking the ceasefire and keeping the borders closed on the 23rd day of Ramadan at Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on March 23, 2025. [Moiz Salhi - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AA-20250323-37427907-37427881-FOOD_DISTRIBUTED_TO_PALESTINIANS_UNDER_ISRAELI_ATTACK_IN_GAZA-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that 82 per cent of humanitarian aid movements in Gaza were denied by the Israeli occupation between 18-24 March 18, Quds News Network reported.
OCHA said on Wednesday that 40 out of 49 attempts by humanitarian organisations to coordinate their movements with Israeli occupation authorities between 18-24 March were denied, adding “tasks as critical as picking up essential supplies or refueling bakeries are effectively blocked.”
Five out of seven such attempts were denied on Monday and six out of nine were rejected on Tuesday, OCHA explained.
It has now been three and a half weeks since Israel imposed a total blockade on all aid entering Gaza, including food, fuel and medicine, pushing the entire population to the brink of famine amid widespread condemnations and accusations of using starvation as a weapon of war.
READ: Israel rejects all attempts to deliver aid to Gaza: UN agency
This is the longest such closure since October 2023, OCHA added, warning that gains made during the ceasefire to support survivors “have been reversed”.
OCHA also highlighted new reports of attacks against health workers, ambulances and hospitals and warned of “hundreds of casualties, a severe drop in medical stocks and a lack of equipment, blood units and personnel” since the ceasefire ended.
“No one is safe. The world must have zero tolerance for atrocities,” the UN agency insisted.
Nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in recent days following the resumption of Israeli bombardment on 18 March, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In just the last week, eight aid workers have been killed in Israeli attacks on the enclave, bringing the total number killed in Gaza to 399. That number includes at least 289 UN personnel, OCHA said.
READ: UN reports 142,000 displaced in Gaza in 1 week as humanitarian crisis worsens