Workers unload bags of aid at a warehouse near the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Türkiye, on July 10, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

BEIRUT - The Syrian government has extended its approval for humanitarian aid to be delivered to parts of the country's northwest through a border crossing with Türkiye for another six months.

The United Nations had been using the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Türkiye to deliver aid to millions in northwest Syria since 2014 with authorization from the United Nations Security Council.

That expired in mid-2023 after the 15-member body failed to reach an agreement to extend it, and the Syrian government then said the UN could continue using the Bab al-Hawa crossing for another six months.

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In a diplomatic note seen by Reuters and dated Thursday, Syria's mission to the UN said Damascus would "extend its permission granted to the United Nations to use Bab al-Hawa crossing to deliver humanitarian assistance to the North-West of Syria for an additional period of six months until July 13, 2024".

Damascus has also allowed the UN to send aid through two other Turkish crossings after an earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye and Syria last year.

That authorization is set to expire on Feb 13.

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Türkiye has been seeking renewals to both sets of authorizations as interest levels and funding priorities have hampered the aid response.