Israel still blocking aid for Gaza despite promise to lift siege, says UN

Israel is still blocking food aid to Gaza despite Netanyahu’s claim to lift the siege, says the UN, as famine fears and civilian deaths rise

Trucks load with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are seen at the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Israel, Tuesday May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Two days after Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was lifting the siege of Gaza, Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians, the UN has said, as the leader of the country’s centre-left Democrats party said his country was becoming a pariah nation that “kills babies as a hobby”.

Only five trucks of aid had reached Gaza by Tuesday afternoon and aid workers had not been permitted to distribute even that token shipment, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office (Ocha) told a Geneva press briefing.