News Center- Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli authorities keep the crossings closed, not allowing humanitarian supplies to enter the enclave.

The continued closure of key border crossings into Gaza is putting civilian lives at risk, just as they begin to recover from months of war, deprivation and hunger, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

“The Kerem Shalom, Zikim and Erez crossings have remained closed for cargo for the third consecutive day, severely restricting the flow of humanitarian supplies into the devastated enclave,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“The Israeli authorities have rejected our attempts to collect humanitarian supplies that crossed the Kerem Shalom border crossing before its closure,” he said, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“Given the huge needs in Gaza, keeping the crossings closed will have devastating consequences,” he warned, underscoring that Member States and those with influence must use all available means to ensure the ceasefire holds.

“Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at a scale similar to what we have seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began. This brought respite and relief to people in need,” Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said Tuesday in a post on social media platform X.

He noted that the vast majority of the people in Gaza rely on aid for their sheer survival, adding that water, medical care and electricity were essential to complement basic food assistance. “Aid and these basic services are non-negotiable. They must never be used as weapons of war.”