Hunger rises in Gaza as UN prepares to vote on ceasefire resolution

Hunger is worsening among Palestinians in Gaza, aid agencies said, as the United Nations (UN) General Assembly prepared to vote on an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the two-month-long conflict between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday.

Hundreds more civilians have died in Israel's assault on Gaza since the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire last Friday.

'Enough is enough'

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes, and residents say it is impossible to find refuge or food in the densely populated coastal enclave. The UN World Food Program said half of the population is starving.

"Hunger stalks everyone," UNRWA, the UN body responsible for Palestinian refugees, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Health services have been devastated, with only 14 of Gaza's 36 hospitals functioning at any capacity, according to UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

UN Security Council envoys spoke of unimaginable suffering and urged an end to the conflict when they visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Monday.

Asked by reporters if he had a message to nations that opposed a ceasefire in Gaza, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun said simply, "Enough is enough."

The Gaza conflict, having entered the third month, has left more than 18,000 Palestinians dead, killing around 1,200 people on the Israeli side, according to the official statistics.

International call for ceasefire, humanitarian aid

On Tuesday, the 193-member General Assembly is likely to pass a draft resolution that mirrors the language of one that was blocked by the United States in the 15-member Security Council last week.

Some diplomats and observers predict the vote will garner greater support than the assembly's October call for "an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce."

In recent days, senior officials from many countries called for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and expressed hope that Israel will allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that she expects Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza at a news conference in Dubai on the sidelines of the UN climate summit.

Prime ministers from Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta sent a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, urging EU leaders to "ask the parties to declare a lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza that can lead to the end of hostilities."

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov called for increasing delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict on Monday during their phone call.

New aid screening system

Amid growing pressure over the humanitarian conditions, Israel said it will open the Keren Shalom crossing in southern Israel from Tuesday for security checks on aid shipments to the Gaza Strip.

Most of the trucks entered the strip at this crossing before the conflict. By now, all trucks carrying humanitarian aid must be inspected at Israel's Nitzana crossing before entering Gaza, causing delays in the delivery of water, food, medical supplies and shelter equipment.

The Nitzana crossing is more than 40 kilometers from the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the only point of aid entry into Gaza.

Opening Keren Shalom, closer to Rafah, would improve the security screening volume and "double the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza," according to a statement released by Israel Defense Forces on Monday.

After undergoing security inspection at the two crossings, aid trucks will be forwarded to international organizations in Gaza via the Rafah crossing between the enclave and Egypt.

(With input from agencies)