Less than 80% of aid trucks cleared by Israel have reached Gaza: UN

The UN on Tuesday warned that less than 80% of aid trucks cleared by Israel have reached the Gaza Strip, as conditions across the enclave continue to deteriorate under bombardment and displacement.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that "since 17 May, only half of the pre-cleared supplies submitted for a second and final Israeli clearance has made it through to the Palestinian side."

Saying that humanitarians on the ground are "making the most of the limited opening that began last month," Dujarric said: "What's coming in is still just a trickle and does not meet the immense needs on the ground."

"In total, the UN and our partners submitted over 1,200 pre-cleared truckloads for final Israeli clearance, a process often referred to as manifesting. Fewer than 80% of those were approved and sent from warehouses in Israel -- that's just over 940 truckloads. After undergoing scanning, offloading, reloading and being shuttled forward, just over 620 truckloads have made it to the Palestinian side," Dujarric explained.

He said the UN has no visibility over part of the process, as "Israeli authorities have not allowed us to deploy monitors at the crossing," adding that only about 370 truckloads have been collected and delivered within Gaza.

Noting that 10 of 13 attempts to coordinate life-saving humanitarian movements on Monday were denied by Israel, Dujarric said they "included the collection of supplies from Kareem Shalom, but also other life-saving operations such as trucking water to North Gaza or relocating fuel stocks to where they are needed."

Warning of a "sharp rise in child labor, early marriage and family separation," Dujarric said it "is all driven by hunger, displacement and economic turmoil."