UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 14, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Zikim crossing in the north of the Gaza Strip was opened for the first time in 40 days, the United Nations said on Monday.

"This will help address a critical need by allowing supplies to enter northern Gaza directly, so we don't have to truck them from the south," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

He said that supplies had been offloaded there over the weekend, and the collection of "food, nutrition and other humanitarian items" from the World Food Programme and UNICEF restarted on Monday.

Dujarric warned, however, that a number of "major constraints remain," including Israeli customs requirements that can cause delays, a lack of security scanning capacity and "blanket bans on specific UN agencies and NGO partners" who are doing humanitarian work in Gaza.

Israel closed all crossings into the Gaza Strip as part of a "security" measure after the launch of US and Israeli military operations in Iran on February 28.

It soon after reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south, which has served as the main entry point for aid into Gaza. It later re-opened the Rafah crossing, also in the south.

Gaza is still reeling from more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the militant group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.