UN, Red Cross demand opening of all Gaza crossings to allow in aid

• UN and Red Cross call for all Gaza crossings to open to deliver urgently needed aid.
• Current aid deliveries fall short, with UN stockpiles ready but daily trucks below required levels.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross urged on Tuesday for all crossings into Gaza to be opened to allow desperately-needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory.

"That's what humanitarians, including ICRC, have been calling for in the last hours is making sure that, because of the huge needs, all entry points can be open," Red Cross spokesperson Christian Cardon told reporters in Geneva.

"We need all of them open," the UN humanitarian agency's spokesperson Jens Laerke added. 

Read more: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hubs dismantled, abandoned amid ceasefire

Aid distribution hubs in Gaza run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) have been dismantled, as more than 100 aid trucks entered the territory on Sunday under the newly brokered ceasefire between 'Israel' and Hamas.

Since beginning operations in May, GHF sites have been linked to violent incidents. 

Gaza’s health ministry reported that 'Israeli' forces killed more than 2,500 Palestinians at these sites or while waiting for aid trucks. 

The UN estimated that at least 600 trucks per day are needed to meet the needs of Gaza’s starving population, while the current ceasefire plan led by US President Donald Trump anticipates 400 trucks daily.

The UN has stockpiled 170,000 metric tonnes of aid outside Gaza, ready for distribution. 

Humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher acknowledged that deliveries were “already falling below the level we had hoped for” but vowed to push forward. 

“Much of Gaza is a wasteland,” he said. “But I'm absolutely determined that we will not fail… We will strain every sinew to deliver for the people of Gaza.”