Humanitarian work in Gaza continues to be disrupted by Israeli authorities with only a third of aid missions authorized to operate in the past week despite the increasing needs of people, a UN spokesperson said.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Friday that only a third of 129 planned aid missions could be carried out with the approval of the Israeli military, even as humanitarian agencies continue to raise the alarm over the dire living conditions of Gaza’s 2.3 million people after 13 months of war.

“Israeli forces prevented two-thirds of the 129 different humanitarian aid operations from reaching the Gaza Strip last week,” Dujarric said.

He also warned that the coming winter will bring further misery to the population, the majority of whom live in tents or damaged buildings unsuitable for cold and wet weather.

“As winter approaches, Palestinians across the Gaza Strip are in dire need of adequate shelter to protect them from rain and cold. Our partners are distributing tents and tarpaulins as quickly as possible, but only a fraction of the supplies needed are entering Gaza,” said Dujarric.

It comes as OCHA reported that more humanitarian workers have been killed so far in 2024 than any year before with the brutal war in the Palestinian Territory causing an increase in deaths, as well as other conflicts around the world.

The Aid worker safety database recorded the deaths of 281 humanitarian workers globally this week, surpassing the grim milestone of last year’s record of 280.

Israel’s war in Gaza has seen extreme levels of risk for humanitarian organizations and personnel trying to operate in the besieged enclave as basic services have been cut off. More than 300 aid workers have been killed while humanitarian facilities, convoys, buildings and displacement areas have been regularly hit by artillery or airstrikes.

The UN has called on both Hamas and Israel to ensure that humanitarian workers can operate and deliver aid to the population, most of whom have been displaced and depend on aid handouts for daily subsistence.

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity met by bullets and bombs”.

“This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid efforts. States and parties to conflicts must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible and call for this era of impunity.”

Humanitarian workers are protected in conflicts under international law under the Geneva Conventions.

The latest OCHA report on Gaza describes that “at least 333 aid workers” have been killed with the majority from the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA).

A notable incident that drew worldwide condemnation was the killing of seven international NGO aid workers World Central Kitchen (WCK) in April.

The workers were targeted several strikes by an Israeli drone, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later described as a “tragic incident”. Netanyahu has since been found wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza war.

The seven workers were from Australia, Poland, Britain, the US and Gaza and their deaths sparked global outrage as Israel tried to explain why they had been killed despite their movements being coordinated with the Israeli army and cleared.

They were traveling in a deconfliction zone from delivering food that had been bought to Gaza from the short sea route.

The alarming increase in violence against aid workers is part of a wider trend of growing civil culpable conflicts, according to OCHA. In 2023, more than 33,000 civilians were killed in 14 conflicts globally, an alarming 72 percent increase from the previous year.

The number of aid worker deaths has also increased since 2022 when 118 people were killed, according to the Aid Worker Security database.

Aid workers have also been subjected to kidnappings, injuries and arbitrary detentions in several conflict zones, including Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine and Yemen, to name but a few.