UN urges all to abide by Gaza deal commitments as US announces start of phase 2

The UN on Wednesday stressed that significant challenges remain in the Gaza Strip as US President Donald Trump's special envoy announced the start of the second phase of the ceasefire plan.

Asked about Steve Witkoff's recent announcement, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that "we continue to urge all parties to abide by the commitments they made under the agreement."

"We saw that in the past month, we have been able to do as much as we can to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid," he said.

Highlighting the challenges despite the ceasefire, Dujarric said: "There remain a lot of hurdles, as we speak to every day on the humanitarian front. And the humanitarian needs continue to be great."

He urged all sides to "seize" the "opportunity" and "put a credible political path forward, leading, ... to a two-state solution."

In response to Anadolu's question about Witkoff's post saying "phase one, delivered historic humanitarian aid," Dujarric said: "The UN was able to deliver a humongous amount of humanitarian aid, but not enough."

"I think we talked about all the impediments and the challenges that continued," he said, stressing that the UN was unable to "deliver as much as we wanted to, but I think we delivered as much as we were able to, given all of the challenges that remain."

Palestinians have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire that halted Israel's brutal war which killed more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

Nearly 450 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,200 others injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire on Oct. 10, 2025, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel also refused to reopen Gaza's crossings despite a UN Security Council resolution adopted in November 2025 calling for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in the enclave, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the territory.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric warned that "insecurity in Gaza, and that includes airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes, is on the rise, leading to civilian casualties."

"Last week saw the highest number of incidents resulting in casualties since the ceasefire went into effect, with more than 300 of those reported," he said.

Dujarric reiterated that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected "at all times."

He said the UN partners on the ground "continue to provide shelter assistance to people in need" across the enclave.