News- Middle East: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the recent restrictions on aid entering Gaza are worsening the suffering of civilians and are likely to result in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

In a statement on Wednesday, UNICEF explained that while a large amount of goods entered Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, this was insufficient to meet the needs of the besieged population. 

The organization highlighted that preventing the entry of relief materials, including vaccines and respiratory equipment, will have severe consequences for children. 

UNICEF emphasized that if medical supplies cannot enter Gaza, routine vaccinations will cease, and newborns will be at significant risk.

Edward Biegbeider, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, stated that the aid restrictions announced on Sunday will severely impact life-saving operations for civilians. 

He stressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire and allowing unrestricted aid flow to expand humanitarian efforts.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, UNICEF was able to deliver more basic supplies and reach more children in need.

However, on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the closure of Gaza's crossings and blocked aid shipments until Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza handed over all Israeli prisoners without compensation.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement officially ended on Saturday night/Sunday, after 42 days, without Israeli approval to enter the second phase and end the war. 

Israeli media reports suggest Netanyahu wants to extend the first phase of the exchange deal to secure the release of as many Israeli prisoners as possible, without offering anything in return or fulfilling the military and humanitarian obligations previously outlined.

The resistance in Gaza has rejected this, demanding that Israel adhere to the terms of the ceasefire agreement and calling for the immediate commencement of phase two negotiations, which include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a complete end to the war.

With U.S. participation, Israel committed genocide in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and January 19, 2025, resulting in over 160,000 Palestinian casualties, most of them women and children, over 14,000 missing, and widespread destruction in the besieged Gaza Strip.

On January 19, a ceasefire agreement took effect between Israeli forces and Hamas, consisting of three phases, each lasting 42 days, with negotiations for the next phase required before completing the previous one.

Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza after Hamas and other G1aza-based Palestinian resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long campaign of oppression against Palestinians.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has resulted in the killing of at least 48,405 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and the injury of 111,835 others since early October 2023.