The United Nations (UN) announced it was encouraged by renewed Gaza ceasefire commitments but warned that recent violence risked undermining fragile progress, as recovery efforts including a large-scale rubble removal project slowly gain momentum across the war-ravaged enclave, according to UN News. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric urged all sides to honor their obligations and avoid any action that could lead to renewed hostilities, while reiterating the Secretary-General’s call for the release of the remains of all deceased hostages.
Over the weekend, Humanitarian Affairs chief Tom Fletcher wrapped up a visit to Gaza, where he met aid workers and inspected UN-supported projects, including a child nutrition center, a hospital, and a road clearance operation. In Gaza City, the UN Development Programme has begun a major debris removal operation, the first phase of a comprehensive debris management plan aimed at restoring access to essential services such as hospitals and schools.
Rubble represents a major challenge in Gaza, where the estimated amount is between 55 and 60 million tons, according to UNDP Representative in Palestine Jaco Cilliers. The agency is taking the vital first step by clearing roads and recycling materials to pave new access routes and temporary facilities. Dozens of diggers and other vehicles have been deployed along Al-Jalaa Street, where UNDP is working around the clock to open roads that have been blocked for months, though Cilliers cautioned that the process will take many years to complete.
UN humanitarians reported progress in aid delivery under the ceasefire, with the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees expanding temporary learning spaces and partners resuming food parcel distributions in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Over the weekend, the UN and partners continued collecting aid from the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings, including post-partum and hygiene kits, medical supplies, fuel, water, and food.
On Sunday, Israeli authorities allowed the UN to deploy monitors at the Kissufim crossing for the first time, a development that Dujarric welcomed as providing much-needed visibility into that segment of the aid pipeline. The expansion of monitoring capacity comes as humanitarian organizations work to scale up assistance across Gaza, where the needs remain immense following months of intense conflict.
