HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Friday reported growing obstacles to humanitarian efforts in the occupied Palestinian territories, specifically citing obstruction by Israeli authorities.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the percentage of humanitarian movements denied by Israeli authorities more than doubled, jumping from 7% in June to 15% in July.

He said that despite an overall rise in coordinated humanitarian missions – from 414 in June to over 540 in July – the denial of access has made it increasingly difficult to deliver aid where it is most needed.

Dujarric also noted OCHA's report on significant challenges in northern Gaza, where as of Thursday, only 43% of the nearly 150 planned humanitarian assistance missions this month were facilitated by Israeli authorities.

"The rest were either denied, impeded, or canceled due to security, operational, or logistical reasons," Dujarric said. Similarly, in southern Gaza, less than half of the almost 280 coordinated aid movements in August have been facilitated by Israeli authorities.

He added that Israeli military's recent evacuation orders issued affected 15 neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

"Initial mapping shows that these areas include nearly 150 displacement locations, most of them informal sites. The latest evacuation directives bring the total number of orders issued in August to 13," he said.

Dujarric further stated that "humanitarian partners working to fight hunger in Gaza say the amount of food assistance that entered southern Gaza in July was one of the lowest recorded in the past 10 months."

"They warn that active hostilities, damaged roads, access constraints, and a lack of public order and safety have led to critical food shortages," he added.