UN Calls for Immediate Opening of Gaza Borders to Allow Humanitarian Assistance

In a powerful plea from Geneva on Friday, United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), demanded the immediate opening of all Gaza border crossings. 

The urgent call aims to flood the region with life-saving humanitarian aid as the crisis in Gaza spirals to critical levels, threatening countless lives.

In spite of Israel cutting ties with UNRWA earlier in 2025 over alleged links to Hamas, the agency continued operations through its 12,000 local staff, which remained vital to relief efforts in the enclave.

“Without our network on the ground, aid delivery would be impossible,” said UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, adding that the agency remained the largest humanitarian provider in Gaza.

Israel controls all access into Gaza and must approve humanitarian convoys and guarantee their safety. The terms of future cooperation with UNRWA for aid delivery remain uncertain.

A top priority, UN officials said, is returning more than 650,000 children to school. Education has been halted since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and the subsequent conflict.

Touma said half of those children had attended UNRWA-run schools, and 7,000 teachers were ready to resume classes if conditions allowed.

UNICEF also announced winter preparation efforts. Every child under one year old in Gaza will receive two boxes of winter clothing, and one million blankets have been set aside for minors.

The agency also has enough supplies to feed 50,000 malnourished children and support 60,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women, a UNICEF spokesperson said. 

dpa/NAN