The crossings have been closed since Saturday because Gaza’s displaced and war-weary population remains dependent on humanitarian aid.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to reopen the Gaza border crossings, which have been closed by Israel since its forces launched a war against Iran with the United States.
“It is imperative that all crossings be reopened… as soon as possible,” Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Tuesday. “In recent days, our partners have been forced to ration fuel and prioritize life-saving operations, albeit at reduced capacity as our local stocks are dwindling.”
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Dujarric said there were some reserves in Gaza, but “when the doors close, we obviously stretch everything we have to make it last longer.”
The Rafah crossing into Gaza from Egypt, the only gateway for Palestinians in Gaza to the outside world that does not pass through Israel, had reopened to the movement of people on February 2, allowing a limited number of people to leave for the first time in months and a small number to return to the devastated enclave to reunite with their families.
Thousands of Palestinians need urgent medical care outside Gaza but have not yet been allowed to leave.
Israel closed the crossing again on Saturday as it launched strikes against Iran, citing “security adjustments.” The crossing is considered vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of critical patients.
Israeli authorities said late Monday they would reopen the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, to allow the “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the territory. That crossing is located at the intersection of the Gaza Strip border with the borders of Israel and Egypt and was also closed on Saturday.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) expressed optimism on Tuesday. “The crossings will open, and that is timely for us, and we need to get help as quickly as we can,” Samer Abdel Jaber, WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, told reporters.
Gaza is entirely dependent on fuel trucked in from Israel and Egypt, and the lack of supplies further puts hospital operations at risk and threatens water and sanitation services.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli border restrictions have depleted stocks of medicine, reconstruction materials, food and water within the Strip, worsening conditions that were already dire after years of Israeli blockade.
A UN investigation in September found genocidal intent in Israel’s war on Gaza, a historic moment after nearly two years of war. In 2023, South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Israel, accusing it of conduct in Gaza that amounted to genocide. That case is ongoing.
Spiral of tensions in the West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli forces on Tuesday continued the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for the fourth consecutive day.
The Palestinian governorate of Jerusalem reported that the army prevented worshipers from entering the mosque, citing the state of emergency.
The complex, Islam’s third-holiest site, was closed Saturday morning, hours after the Israeli-US military offensive against Iran began.
For the second day in a row, Israeli forces attacked the Askar refugee camp, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, closing its entrances and searching several houses.
Last month, the Israeli government approved a plan to claim large areas of the West Bank as “state property” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership, sparking regional protests and accusations of “de facto annexation.”
More than 80 UN member states condemned the move and called on Israel to reverse the decision, which they said was contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law.
