Tom Fletcher

We're there on the ground and we're saving as many lives as we can, but we're only 32% funded.

So we are making these brutal life and death choices every day about which lives to save, literally, which projects to cut, which projects to keep.

So we're doing our best.

We're getting particularly food in, which is so, so vital right now.

Try and get medicine in, trying to stand up some of the essential health services, but we're overwhelmed.

I think there's a lot of disinformation out there.

People are being told, you know, we shouldn't have to care about the suffering on the other side of the world.

But actually the reality is we do, because unless we get out there and deal with these massive crises at source, then these problems are coming in our direction too.

The U.N.

says its teams in the past 24 hours were only able to collect aid, such as food, medicine and hygiene kits, that had previously been transferred into Gaza.

That means the U.N.

wasn't able to bring in new aid since at least Tuesday.

The UN says a flood of aid is desperately needed in Gaza to reverse starvation and severe malnutrition, particularly among children.

The UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher says thousands of trucks of aid should be flowing into Gaza every week and that all land crossings into Gaza must be open.

He says the UN has long insisted that withholding aid from civilians in Gaza is not a bargaining chip.

Israel's military has not responded to NPR's request for comment.

Fletcher also called on Hamas to make strenuous efforts to return all bodies of hostages.

Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai.

My name is Tom Fletcher. I was responsible for the strategic business unit inside Flex.

My name is Tom Fletcher. I was responsible for the strategic business unit inside Flex.