United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths Thursday expressed optimism that the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel might open soon, facilitating the entry of more humanitarian supplies into Gaza, where relentless Israeli airstrikes have left people desperately short of basic needs.
"We're still negotiating, and with some promising signs at the moment," Griffiths told reporters in Geneva. "There are promising signs now that that may be able to open soon."
If that were to happen, Griffiths said it would represent a major boost for humanitarian operations seeking more access to the densely populated Palestinian enclave, which has been widely devastated by Israeli bombardment in the two-month-old conflict.
"It would be the first miracle we've seen for some weeks, but would also be a huge boost to the logistical process and logistical base of a humanitarian operation," he said about the possible opening of Kerem Shalom.
He said the warring parties were more willing to open the crossing "probably not in one go, but certainly gradually."
Aid currently being allowed into Gaza comes only through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, which was designed for pedestrian crossings and not trucks.
The Kerem Shalom crossing was used to carry over 60% of the truckloads going into Gaza before the conflict erupted on Oct. 7. It sits at Gaza's southern border with Israel and Egypt and Griffiths said both Israel and Egypt had become much more open to the idea of reviving the route.
Israeli attacks on Gaza after a short-lived truce have forced scores of people to flee to the south of the enclave, prompting fears among aid and health organizations that overcrowding and the lack of food and clean water could spread disease.
Griffiths deplored the precarious state of aid efforts, saying: "We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore."
"The pace of the military assault in southern Gaza is a repeat of the assault in northern Gaza," he added, referring to a part of the enclave that has been largely cut off from humanitarian aid.
Griffiths described the aid operation in Gaza as "at best humanitarian opportunism," where humanitarian workers were struggling to get the most essential supplies to people in dire need.
"It's erratic. It's undependable," Griffiths said of the aid operation. "And frankly, it's not sustainable."
The relief chief reiterated that there are no safe zones in Gaza, adding that "people are not talking about safe zones anymore."
Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
At least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed and over 46,000 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
