The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, emphasized the necessity of moving beyond merely providing basic means of survival for the residents of the Gaza Strip, and working diligently towards restoring their eroded human dignity. In a briefing before the UN Security Council, the UN official strongly criticized the continued Israeli obstacles that prevent the effective and safe distribution of relief aid in various areas of the Strip.
Fletcher noted that the period following the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement on October 10 saw a relative improvement in the flow of supplies, with the average number of trucks entering stabilizing at 100 per day. However, he described this increase as 'fragile gains' that meet only the minimum legal and humanitarian requirements imposed by international law on civilians suffering under the crisis.
The UN official expressed his rejection of reducing international ambition to merely securing calories to prevent starvation, while children face the risks of continuous shelling and harsh displacement conditions. He clarified that the bitter reality in Gaza still witnesses suffering from hunger, the spread of diseases, and a comprehensive deprivation of education, emphasizing that the silence of weapons must be immediately followed by concrete steps to restore basic rights.
In a related context, Fletcher issued an explicit call to open all crossings leading to the Strip without exception, demanding the immediate cancellation of Israeli restrictions imposed on the entry of vital goods. He focused his request on the necessity of facilitating the access of advanced medical equipment and the necessary quantities of fuel to operate service facilities that have been widely damaged during the long months of war.
For her part, Oxfam's Humanitarian Policy Officer, Bushra Al-Khalidi, participated in the session with a speech urging member states to make courageous and humane decisions to end the suffering. Al-Khalidi affirmed that the current time requires rapid international action that goes beyond the language of condemnations to practical steps that ensure the protection of civilians and the unimpeded flow of aid without political or military obstacles.
These UN movements come amidst complexities surrounding the implementation of the peace plan announced by US President Donald Trump in September 2025, which included provisions for a phased Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of international stabilization forces. Despite Hamas's announcement of its commitment to the terms of the agreement, it accused the Israeli side of continuing field violations and deliberately obstructing the transition to the second phase of political understandings.
It is worth noting that the Gaza Strip is trying to recover from the effects of a devastating war that lasted two years, leaving a heavy toll of over 73,000 martyrs and more than 173,000 injured, the majority of whom are women and children. US-backed military operations have destroyed about 90% of the civilian infrastructure, making reconstruction efforts and the restoration of normal life a tremendous challenge for the international community.
We cannot allow our highest ambition and will to be a world where children only get enough calories to survive.
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UN Official Calls for End to 'Survival Policy' and Restoration of Dignity for Gaza Strip Residents