UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The January round of general food assistance under way in Gaza meets the minimum caloric standard for the first time in more than two years, UN humanitarians said Monday.
"Each family receives two food parcels and two 25-kg bags of flour ... the first since October 2023, in which partners had sufficient stocks to meet 100 percent of that minimum caloric standard," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Since the Oct. 10, 2025 ceasefire, rations covered between 50 percent and 75 percent of the minimum caloric needs, said OCHA.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners brought more than 10,000 metric tonnes of aid through Kerem Shalom and Zikim border crossings last week, the office said.
"To further address food insecurity, the United Nations is supporting the production of about 170,000 bread bundles every day, each weighing 2 kg," OCHA said. "These are distributed free of charge in more than 400 shelters, and at subsidized prices through roughly 150 shops. At the same time, hot meal kitchens continue to operate, supported by the UN, now serving more than 1.5 million meals every day."
OCHA said that from Nov. 11 to Dec. 10, the world body and its partners brought over 80,000 pallets of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, significantly increased food assistance, and tackled malnutrition by providing supplements to more than 320,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under 5.
The office also said that health support has expanded. Teams helped set up 120 intensive care and emergency beds, delivered 30 anesthesia machines and dozens of portable vital-sign monitors, and supplied health facilities with critical medicines and consumables.
OCHA said that winter clothing kits were distributed to more than 237,000 children under 11 years old and reached nearly 62,000 additional households with about 24 million U.S. dollars in multipurpose cash assistance.
OCHA said it is discussing the obstacles to the entry of shelter materials, water and sanitation equipment, agricultural inputs, construction materials and education supplies and hopes to see them lifted as soon as possible. ■
