Israel reopens Zikim crossing for aid delivery into Northern Gaza: UN
United Nations: The United Nations has confirmed that Israel will reopen the Zikim crossing into the northern Gaza Strip, amid growing appeals for improved humanitarian access.
"Overnight, Israeli authorities informed the UN that the Zikim crossing, between Israel and northern Gaza, will reopen for humanitarian cargo," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.
The Zikim crossing, which had remained closed for two months, becomes the third entry point to resume operations for aid deliveries after the reopening of the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossing near the Egyptian border and the Kissufim crossing between Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, Xinhua news agency reported.
Humanitarian agencies have long urged for expanded aid access to Gaza’s densely populated northern areas. During the closure period, no supplies entered Gaza directly from the north, while deliveries from the south were slowed by extensive road damage.
OCHA said the United Nations has, in recent weeks, been repairing the road leading up to Zikim from inside Gaza in preparation for the reopening and to enable the resumption of cargo collection. It has begun final checks, including on potential unexploded ordnance.
The office said the authorities reported that incoming cargo will need to be scanned outside Zikim, offloaded from Israeli trucks, and reloaded on a separate day onto Palestinian trucks for distribution in Gaza.
OCHA said partners managing displacement sites in Gaza report that people continue to move from southern Gaza to the north, with approximately 4,000 movements recorded over the past week. While the distribution of shelter and winter supplies is scaling up, the needs remain vast.
The office said that as humanitarians continue to scale up assistance -- with the commercial sector and bilateral assistance further supporting the response -- market prices for basic commodities are gradually stabilizing. At the same time, OCHA partners continue to provide critical cash voucher assistance, with 66,000 cash transfers since the ceasefire came into effect last month.
IANS