UN Gaza relief mechanism for expediting aid shipments set to launch soon: Official

The UN's senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza announced Wednesday the operationalization of a relief mechanism in the coming days.

"I am pleased to announce that the operationalization of the UN 2720 Mechanism for Gaza will start in the coming days. I am grateful for the constructive cooperation," Sigrid Kaag said at a UN Security Council session on Palestine.

The UN mechanism, which aims to accelerate humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza through States that are not party to the conflict, is to "initially be applicable to the Cyprus and Jordan routes," according to Kaag.

Noting that technical consultations are nearing completion for the Egypt route, she also confirmed that Israeli authorities have been informed about the mechanism's implementation.

A key aspect of the mechanism is the establishment of a comprehensive database and notification system for all Gaza-bound cargo, Kaag said.

"In the coming weeks, my office in Gaza will also be operational," she said, adding: "The operationalization of the mechanism will allow for pipeline prioritization, predictability, visibility and tracking of supplies to Gaza."

Echoing the UN's "grave concern over the prospect of an Israeli operation in (the southern Gaza city of) Rafah," Kaag said "such action would compound an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, with consequences for people already displaced and enduring severe hardships and suffering."

"The UN's ability to deliver will be constrained," she noted.

Kaag further stressed the need for the continuation of "a paradigm shift" with aims "to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in a safe and secure manner."

"It is our duty to provide protection, support and therefore hope to the Palestinian population in Gaza. It is also our duty to advocate for lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state," she said.

The former Dutch minister was assigned as UN coordinator for Gaza as part of a Security Council resolution that was adopted last week to step up humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,200 Palestinians have since been killed and 77,200 others injured amid a tight siege imposed by Israel, which left the entire population, especially residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.