UN chief Guterres calls for increased aid access at Rafah border crossing

Written by Jillian Shaw | March 25, 2024

Aid Trucks at the Rafah border crossing

U.N. Secretary-General Anónio Guterres called for an influx of aid access and an immediate ceasefire while standing near the Egyptian border with Gaza on Saturday. In a press conference surrounded by stalled aid trucks, Guterres proclaimed that it is necessary to “truly flood Gaza with lifesaving aid” by allowing access through the Rafah crossing. The crossing has been closed throughout the Israel-Hamas war, with approximately 7,000 aid trucks currently waiting at the closed gates. Guterres called for Israel to make “an ironclad commitment” to allow aid access into Gaza, referring to the starvation in Rafah and throughout the Gaza Strip as a “moral outrage.” 

The U.N. and Guterres have repeatedly stressed concerns of famine in the Gaza Strip, as aid is struggling to get into the territory. As of Sunday, an estimated 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing “catastrophic hunger,” which is the highest indicator of a famine. Guterres emphasized the Rafah crossing and the Egyptian El Arish airport as “essential arteries for life-saving aid into Gaza” that are now “clogged.” Israel has kept all but one of the land crossings into Gaza closed, opening the Kerem Shalom crossing in late December, and has denied allegations that it has delayed humanitarian aid deliveries and distribution.

Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, is where an estimated 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering and is possibly the next target of an Israeli ground operation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his commitment to a Rafah offensive, which he believes to be crucial for destroying Hamas’ last major stronghold. Guterres also questioned Israeli aims for relocating Rafah civilians before the offensive in his statement, doubting that any program could successfully “provide security and safety for the population of Rafah.”  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken similarly said on Thursday that a Rafah offensive would be a “mistake” and continued calls for an immediate ceasefire.

This conference followed the vetoed U.N. Security Council resolution on Friday in support of “an immediate and sustained cease-fire.” Russia and China had vetoed the U.S.-sponsored resolution due to vague language that Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called “deliberately misleading [to] the international community.” This was notably the U.S.’s first supported ceasefire resolution, having previously vetoed three, which has been criticized by other security council members. Chinese ambassador Zhang Jun shared doubts about the U.S.’s sincerity about the ceasefire, questioning why it took “such a detour and played a game of words while being ambiguous and evasive on critical issues.” Security Council members continue to draft and edit resolutions, with the 10 elected members placing their own resolution up for a vote, which calls for a “permanent sustainable cease-fire” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”