By Olivia Le Poidevin and Yesim Dikmen, Reuters
A Palestinian girl carries a bowl of rice after receiving a food portion from a charity kitchen in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, on October 8, 2025. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto/ Majdi Fathi
The UN children's charity UNICEF called on Friday (local time) for all crossings for food aid into war-shattered Gaza to be opened, saying children in the territory were especially vulnerable because they have gone without proper food for long periods.
"The situation is critical. We risk seeing a massive spike in child death, not only neonatal, but also infants, given their immune systems are more compromised than ever before," said UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
Children's immunity is low because "they haven't been eating properly and recently at all for way too long", he said.
Scale-up could see 600 trucks a day entering Gaza
Israeli troops began pulling back from some parts of the Palestinian territory on Friday under a ceasefire deal with Hamas, in the first phase of an initiative by US President Donald Trump to end the two-year-old war.
The United Nations plans to ramp up its delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where some areas are experiencing famine, in the first 60 days of a ceasefire in the enclave, a top UN official said on Thursday.
A truck loaded with humanitarian aid supplies provided by China is seen on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip in 2023. Photo: AFP / Xinhua / Yasser Qudih
COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it expected about 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily.
"Under the ceasefire arrangement, we will have more than 145 community distribution points, in addition to up to 30 bakeries and all of our nutrition sites," Ross Smith, WFP director of emergencies, told Reuters on Friday.
The WFP expected to begin scaling up deliveries early next week, but that would depend on the withdrawal of Israeli forces so that humanitarian safe zones could be expanded.
COGAT, said in a statement that aid trucks operated by the UN and "approved international organisations" the private sector, and donor countries would be allowed to enter Gaza.
The trucks will mainly include food, medical equipment, shelter supplies, and fuel and equipment needed to repair water lines and sewage systems.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would stay in Gaza to ensure the territory was demilitarised and that Hamas disarmed in future stages of Trump's plan.
Access to northern Gaza is critical, the WFP said, with up to 400,000 people who have not received assistance for several weeks.
The agency has urged improved scanning and approval of aid convoys to speed truck entry.
UNICEF said 50,000 children were at risk of acute malnutrition and in need of immediate treatment. UNICEF also aims to provide one million blankets for every child in Gaza and hopes to deliver wheelchairs and crutches, which it said had previously been blocked.
Six-month-old Jouri Abu Hajar lies in the nutrition ward at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, central Gaza, on July 22, 2025. Photo: Moiz Salhi / Middle East Images via AFP
UN roles still unclear
Both UNICEF and the UN Palestinian refugee relief agency UNRWA said they have yet to receive details on their roles during the ceasefire.
UNRWA, which is banned from operating in Israel, has urged the Israeli authorities to allow it to take 6000 trucks' worth of aid into Gaza, including enough food to feed the population for three months, from Jordan and Egypt.
"We've not had any progress to move those supplies into Gaza ... and this is absolutely critical in controlling the spread of famine," Juliette Touma, the spokesperson for UNRWA, said.
CARE International told Reuters on Friday it still had not received clearance for its supplies to enter as it faces ongoing registration barriers, like other agencies including the Norwegian Refugee Council.
"We still need clarity on how we'll be able to get supplies into Gaza that have been stuck outside for months," said Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Palestine country director.
-Reuters
