Summary
- Trump’s envoy met a UN official in New York.
- Discussed the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
- The UN warns of severe malnutrition amid blockade.
- The visit aims to improve food and medical aid.
- UN stresses ceasefire needed for aid access.
During a midday briefing, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that Joyce Msuya, the UN's assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, met with US Envoy Steve Witkoff.
“They had a constructive discussion on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to speedily scale up aid into Gaza,” Dujarric told reporters.
The UN has issued many warnings that Israel is preventing the delivery of much needed aid to Gaza, resulting in a serious Gaza humanitarian crisis where Palestinians are increasingly suffering from malnutrition and starvation.
“The amount of aid and goods that can be brought into Gaza does not meet the minimum requirements of people who are starving,”
Dujarric also told reporters, stressing that a ceasefire is “critically needed”
to reach those in need and ensure a sustained, scaled-up aid flow.
The humanitarian situation has gotten worse as
Israel, which has kept a blockade on Gaza for 18 years, closed all border
crossings on March 2, thwarting a cease-fire and prisoner transfer agreement
that was reached in January.
According to local authorities, Israel's
ruthless attack since October 2023 has killed almost 61,000 Palestinians, the
great majority of whom were women and children. It has also severely damaged
Gaza's humanitarian crisis, brought down its healthcare system, and resulted in
severe food shortages.
Israel has only just permitted a little amount
of aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a contentious
organization supported by both the US and Israel.
The UN claims that since late May, Israeli military and US contractors have fired on humanitarian workers, killing about 1,400 and wounded over 4,000. A small amount of aid now enters under the contentious program.
What are the key outcomes of the UN and US envoy's Gaza aid discussions?
They had a constructive discussion focused on
the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the urgent need to rapidly scale up
aid delivery into the territory.
The UN emphasized that the current amount of aid
and goods entering Gaza does not meet the minimum needs of the starving
population.
A ceasefire was identified as critically needed
to enable sustained and expanded aid flow to reach those in need.
The discussions took place amid ongoing Israeli
blockade and military operations in Gaza, which have caused severe shortages,
destruction of infrastructure, and a collapsing health system.