UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Immediate Access for Aid into Gaza

New York, 3 October 2025 – The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has urged swift action to enable the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Fletcher welcomed President Trump’s Gaza initiative, calling it a “window of opportunity” to both bring home hostages and ensure aid reaches civilians in desperate need.

“It offers both a chance for Palestinians to receive life-saving aid at the scale urgently needed, and to bring the hostages home. We are ready and eager to act,” Fletcher said.

Supplies Ready to Move

The UN says it has 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, shelter materials, and other emergency supplies staged across the region and ready for immediate delivery.

“Our plan is not a theory – we know it works,” Fletcher explained, recalling the UN’s rapid and large-scale operations during the last ceasefire. “We are mobilised again today. The UN and our partners have the people, the trust and the experience. Our plan delivers aid to civilians, through the safest and most direct routes, and in a principled and neutral way.”

Conditions for Success

For the humanitarian plan to succeed, Fletcher highlighted several urgent requirements:

• Open crossings for aid delivery

• Safe movement for civilians and humanitarian staff

• Unrestricted entry of goods into Gaza

• Visas for aid workers

• Space for humanitarian organisations to operate

• Revitalisation of Gaza’s private sector

Call for Ceasefire

Fletcher stressed that ongoing delays only deepen the suffering of civilians:

“This nightmare has gone on too long. Every minute of delay brings more misery. But we now have a chance to deliver. We call on all parties to agree to a ceasefire, give us the access, let us work.”

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to coordinate closely with partners to prepare large-scale relief operations for Gaza.