United Nations Radio

The UN is set to resume its aid distribution for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza after receiving credible security assurances from "the very highest levels" in Israel.

aid distribution in Gaza

UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency had suspended its operations following an attack that killed one of its drivers and injured a second, even though they had received Israeli clearance.

UNRWA Director of Operations, John Ging said the decision to suspend operation had been a "horrendous" one when hundreds of thousands of Gazans are in dire need of food, water and other essentials.

"On the side of our operations, we did of course keep the essential services going in situ. We didn't allow the staff to go home last night because of the restriction on movement. But that meant of course that they were in situ this morning in the clinics and also in the shelters. We have now 21,500 people seeking refuge in 27 schools around the Gaza Strip but the numbers continue to increase as people are fleeing, seeking shelter and refuge from the very real dangers that are ever-present here at the moment."

Israel held a 3-hour pause again Friday in its offensive for the third day in a row which provided some relief to allow people to move around, to have access to the wounded and to bury their dead. But outside of the 3-hour truce fighting continued despite Thursday night's Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

Diane Bailey, United Nations Radio

(duration: 1'30")