GENEVA (Reuters) -Another eight trucks carrying food, medicine and water are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday, a senior United Nations official said, as a combination of technical, political and security issues hindered deliveries.
"We have gotten in approximately 74 trucks. We're expecting another eight or so today," said Lynn Hastings, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
She said detailed negotiations were taking place with Israel to secure more humanitarian crossings in the densely populated enclave, which has been hit by unrelenting air strikes that have killed thousands of people in response to surprise attacks by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7.
"In addition to the technical issues and the security issues, there are political issues as well," said Hastings told reporters in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem. "And there's a certain amount of pressure on the government of Israel in terms of its domestic politics."
There is still no agreement to get fuel into Gaza, and the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency has said the absence of fuel was jeopardising life-saving humanitarian operations there.
Hastings said it was "very tricky" to provide Israel security assurances while getting commodities needed to the population in Gaza.
"We need the electricity lines to be reconnected and I've heard the Government of Israel saying they will not be doing that," Hastings said.
"We need to get the fuel trucks in, we need to get fuel for the gas power plant running again. And we need to do it in a secure way that offers Israel assurances to make sure that it's not going to be diverted."
Officials are also grappling with the issue of how to distribute the scant aid.
"We are aware of the 1,000 patients that require dialysis and over 100 children and babies that are in incubators, so we do our best to try and make the prioritisation in accordance with the greatest needs," Hastings said.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge; Editing by Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray and Mike Harrison)
