The Syrian government extended the permission for a U.N. agency to use a border crossing with Türkiye for the delivery of humanitarian aid, a U.N. official said Thursday.
The Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced the extension "to deliver humanitarian assistance from Türkiye through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for an additional six months. That takes us until Jan. 13, 2025," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.
Noting that the "extension is essential for the U.N. cross-border operation," Dujarric said the crossing is a "lifeline" for Syrians in the northwest.
"Each month, we and our partners reach on average more than a million people with critical assistance and protection services. This is down significantly from previous years due to growing funding shortfalls," he added.
Dujarric reported that "so far this year, over 90% of trucks carrying UN aid, and 70% of missions by UN personnel, used Bab Al-Hawa to reach northwest Syria."
Regarding Gaza, he reiterated the ongoing hostilities and lack of public order are "severely hampering aid operations."
Saying that the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) "has assisted about a quarter of a million people in Gaza so far this month," Dujarric said the agency provided aid to more than 1 million people in Gaza in June.
He conveyed the agency's warning about supplies that are needed for the distribution of hot meals, saying the supplies "will be depleted in just days unless additional stock is received."
