United Nations Calls on Israel to Protect Aid Workers in Gaza United Nations aid agencies are urging Israeli authorities to do more to safeguard aid workers in the Gaza Strip and ensure that vital assistance reaches those in need. According to a U.N. spokesman, the agencies are facing challenges in delivering food and other essential items, with a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification indicating that Gaza is at high risk of famine, threatening nearly 500,000 people, about a quarter of its population, with starvation. A senior U.N. security official has reached out to the Israeli agency responsible for overseeing aid to Gaza, stressing the need for enhanced protection for aid workers. Despite these pleas, Israeli authorities have pushed back, with a social media post directing criticism at the U.N.'s World Food Program and calling for the organization to fulfill its humanitarian responsibilities. While the amount of food reaching northern Gaza has seen an increase in recent months, the dire conditions in the region still demand much more aid. Aid groups have expressed concerns for the safety of their workers, with the U.N.'s World Food Program suspending deliveries from a U.S.-built pier off the coast of Gaza following an Israeli operation that resulted in the destruction of its warehouses and the loss of civilian lives. The U.N. has labeled Gaza as the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers, with approximately 250 aid workers, including nearly 200 from the main U.N. agency for Palestinians, being killed since the outbreak of the conflict. These challenges have led to a temporary suspension of aid deliveries, raising fears of potential halts to other operations. Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, emphasized the increasing risks faced by aid workers and highlighted the repeated targeting of humanitarian operations, including Israeli strikes on supposed "de-conflicted" areas. He stressed the urgent need to support the millions of Palestinian civilians dependent on humanitarian aid, while Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, described the humanitarian operation in Gaza as "totally unnecessarily one of the most cumbersome and complex in the world right now."