The UN Humanitarian Country Team on Sunday condemned Israel’s continuing border closures, now in a ninth consecutive week, which have prevented all humanitarian aid deliveries. The team alleged that Israel militarised all aid distribution, rather than facilitating it through humanitarian organizations such as the UN.

The team emphasized how the humanitarian situation has exponentially worsened over the course of the nine weeks since the ban was first established by Israeli authorities, saying that Israel’s actions “contravene fundamental humanitarian principles” and “deepen the suffering of civilians.”

This condemnation follows recent statements made by UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, who called Israel’s actions “alarming.” On Saturday, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, included EU officials in her own remarks of condemnation, and called for their prosecution for complicity in Israeli war crimes. 

A summary report issued by the World Food Programme (WFP) in March noted drastically increasing food prices—upwards of 200%, compared to prices prior to the blockade. According to the WFP, there is an excess of 63,000 metric tonnes of food available for distribution into Gaza, but the border closure prevents distribution.

This development follows weeklong proceedings at the ICJ on Israel’s restrictions imposed on humanitarian efforts. UN counsel Elinor Hammarskjöld stressed “the overarching obligation to administer the territory for the benefit of the local population.” The results of this advisory hearing are soon to be issued.