GENEVA - Aid access in Gaza is at a low point, with deliveries to parts of the besieged north of the enclave all but impossible, said a UN humanitarian official on Nov 15.

The remarks run counter to a US assessment earlier in the week that Israel is not currently impeding humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, avoiding restrictions on US military aid. Israel has said it has worked hard to assist the humanitarian needs in Gaza.

"From our perspective, on all indicators you can possibly think of in a humanitarian response, all of them are going in the wrong direction," said Mr Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in response to a question at a Geneva press briefing about whether humanitarian access had improved.

"Access is at a low point. Chaos, suffering, despair, death, destruction, displacement are at a high point," he added.

Mr Laerke voiced concern about north Gaza, where residents have been ordered to head south as Israeli forces' incursion of more than a month continues. Israel says its operations there are designed to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.

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