UNITED NATIONS, December 20. /TASS/. Aid workers have practically no access to the north of the Gaza Strip, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said.

"The northern part of the Strip remains mostly inaccessible to humanitarian actors due to insecurity, as well as access restrictions imposed by Israel," he told a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

He went on to say that aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave continue to "face nearly insurmountable challenges."

"Amid displacement at an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink. Limited steps by Israel, including allowing entry of more fuel, food and cooking gas, and opening Kerem Shalom for the entry of humanitarian supplies, are positive, but fall far short of what is needed to address the human catastrophe on the ground," the UN official said.

In his words, year 2023 ends as one of the deadliest in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with "the situation deteriorating on nearly all fronts.".