UN chief: limited, 'sometimes nil' improvement from Israel action on Gaza aid

UNITED NATIONS, April 18 (Reuters) - Israel's commitments to improve aid access in the Gaza Strip have had "limited and sometimes nil" impact, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday as he pushed for urgent, meaningful and measurable progress to avert famine.

The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza during the six-month-old war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the enclave of 2.3 million people.

"To avert imminent famine, and further preventable deaths from disease, we need a quantum leap in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Food is essential; so are clean water, sanitation, and healthcare," Guterres told the Security Council.

Israel recently reopened the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and allowed the temporary use of Ashdod port in southern Israel after U.S. President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying conditions could be placed on U.S. support for Israel if it did not act.

"Apparent progress in one area is often cancelled out by delays and restrictions elsewhere," said Guterres.

"For example, although the Israeli authorities have cleared more aid convoys, those clearances are often granted when it is too late in the day to make deliveries and return safely," he said. "So the impact is limited, and sometimes nil."

The U.S. State Department said on Thursday there had been "some measurable progress" on getting aid into Gaza.

"But the circumstances within Gaza continue to be dire and more absolutely needs to be done. The crisis that we're seeing demands rapid expansion of these efforts," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

Guterres said three World Food Programme convoys - a total of 25 trucks - were authorized to use the Erez crossing on April 14, 15 and 16. Guterres also said that operating hours of Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings had been expanded by Israel, but security concerns meant the hours could not be expanded in Gaza.

The U.N. and aid groups need to use all possible routes and crossings into and throughout every part of Gaza, and also require Israel's full and active facilitation of aid operations "and improved and direct communications between humanitarians and military decisionmakers on the ground," Guterres said.

Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel led by the militant group.

Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault, and Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed nearly 34,000 people in its offensive in Gaza since then.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan did not directly address the humanitarian situation in Gaza when he spoke to the Security Council on Thursday, but he called out the 15-member body for its focus on the conflict.

"The amount of time, effort, and resources poured into Gaza, makes it seem as if the rest of the world is a pure utopia. That outside of Gaza, we live in a care-free world. Hakuna Matata," he said.