The Gaza Strip remains in a state of “constant peak emergency”, a UN official said, as aid groups continue to face severe challenges in delivering assistance after more than a year of Israel’s military operation.

“Every day is a struggle to make sure that we can provide our assistance,” Antoine Renard, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the occupied Palestinian territories, told AFP shortly after a visit to Gaza.

“People in the north of Gaza are relying solely on assistance. They practically have no access to fresh food — just staples provided by UNRWA and WFP,” Renard said, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Despite a desperate need to increase the amount of aid going in, he said no WFP food aid has managed to reach northern Gaza since October 1, requesting that “crossings be reopened”.

Renard said that most residents have survived so far on tinned food, a situation he describes as “unsustainable”. “We face issues with crossings. We face issues in having our assistance not being under bombs,” he added, noting that looting of the goods once in the territory was also a problem.