Iran calls on the UN to take ‘immediate steps’ to provide aid to Gaza

Iran called on the United Nations on Wednesday to take "immediate procedures" to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, where fighting between the Palestinian movement Hamas and Israel has intensified.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian traveled to Geneva on Tuesday to meet with representatives of the United Nations and the International Red Cross for talks on delivering aid to Palestinian territories.

During his meeting in Geneva with the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, Abdollahian said, "The quantity of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza is extremely low, approaching zero. It is essential for the United Nations to take immediate and serious action in this regard."

According to the United Nations, 76 trucks entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, bringing the total number of trucks entering the besieged enclave to 981 since October 21. Before October 7, around 500 trucks entered Gaza daily.

The current humanitarian aid is deemed entirely inadequate for approximately 2.4 million people, including 1.6 million displaced since the beginning of the war, facing a catastrophic situation, according to the United Nations.
Moreover, the Iranian minister urged the United Nations to "fully open" the Rafah border crossing, controlled by Egypt and serving as the main access point to Gaza.

Around 23,000 liters of gasoline were delivered to Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday. 

However, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), considered this quantity insufficient, noting that humanitarian operations are "on the verge of collapse" due to fuel shortages.

AFP