The United Nations has said it did not know how many truckloads of aid were awaiting distribution inside the Gaza Strip because Israel has not granted it access.

“Despite our repeated requests, Israel has not allowed the UN to be present at the crossings, which are militarised areas,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

“We therefore cannot verify the amount of supplies currently at the crossing,” he told AFP.

Laerke explained that the UN needed multiple approvals from the Israeli authorities: firstly, to get aid across the border from Israel into the Gaza Strip, where it is dropped off — the trucks returning to Israel — followed by another approval to drive trucks from inside Gaza to collect it.

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