UN Says More than 630 Trucks with Humanitarian Aid Have Entered Gaza

19 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Yunis: Trucks loaded with food and humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on Salah al-Din Road east of Khan Yunis during the ceasefire and hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
19 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Yunis: Trucks loaded with food and humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on Salah al-Din Road east of Khan Yunis during the ceasefire and hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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UN Says More than 630 Trucks with Humanitarian Aid Have Entered Gaza

19 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Yunis: Trucks loaded with food and humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on Salah al-Din Road east of Khan Yunis during the ceasefire and hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
19 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Yunis: Trucks loaded with food and humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on Salah al-Din Road east of Khan Yunis during the ceasefire and hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

United Nations humanitarian officials said Monday that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Gaza Strip, in implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs said that over 630 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.
“There is no time to lose,” Fletcher wrote. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”
The Gaza ceasefire deal, which began Sunday with an initial phase lasting six weeks, calls for the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily. Over the course of the deal’s first stage, 33 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza will also be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.



Middle East Must Emerge from Turbulence with Peace and Horizon of Hope, UN Chief Says

 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
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Middle East Must Emerge from Turbulence with Peace and Horizon of Hope, UN Chief Says

 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses to members of the Security Council about the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian Question at UN Headquarters in New York City, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations chief says the Middle East is undergoing a “profound transformation” and has urged all countries to ensure the region emerges from the turbulence with peace and “a horizon of hope grounded in action.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council Monday that “a new dawn is rising in Lebanon,” which he just visited. He said it was vital that Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army deploy there as required in the ceasefire agreement.

In Gaza, he urged Israel and Hamas to ensure that their newly agreed deal leads to a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel.

The ceasefire must also lead to four simultaneous actions on the ground, Guterres said.

Unhindered UN access including by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA which Israel is seeking to ban is essential, he said, as well as scaled-up aid deliveries, Palestinians’ access to aid, and protection of civilians.

Guterres expressed deep concern about “an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity” of Gaza and the West Bank – key pieces of a future Palestinian state – from Israeli actions and “unabated illegal settlement expansion.”

“Senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months,” he said. “Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law.”

The secretary-general said Syria “stands at a crossroads of history” and told the council, “We cannot let the flame of hope turn into an inferno of chaos.”

He stressed the need for a Syrian-led political transition, and “much more significant work in addressing sanctions and designations” especially in light of the country’s urgent economic needs.