Aid missions to Gaza still denied by Israel, say UN aid workers

By Nathan Morley

Authorities in Israel have denied three more UN-led aid missions to the besieged areas of North Gaza.

According to UN humanitarians, this adds to the 38 missions they blocked at the start of December.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the Israelis hindered two additional missions planned to bring essential supplies to Gaza between the 1st and 16th of this month.

OCHA said UN-led aid missions to the North Gaza governorate continue to be ‘overwhelmingly denied, especially those seeking to reach the besieged areas in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and parts of Jabalya.’

In other developments, the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said its operatives set off a house booby-trapped with explosives, targeting Israeli soldiers. The brigades claimed the explosion targeted 11 Israeli soldiers, causing in deaths and injuries.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that he would not permit the establishment of a Palestinian state, discarding reports that Israel had agreed to a path toward Palestinian statehood as part of efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.

‘Prime Minister Netanyahu has acted and continues to act against the establishment of a Palestinian state,’ his office said describing the reports as ‘completely false.’