LONDON: Palestinian aid workers have described conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic,” with Israel continuing to block most aid supplies two weeks after a ceasefire deal took effect in the territory.
Only a fraction of the number of trucks Israel agreed to allow into the territory under the agreement have arrived and Palestinian families are struggling to find food to meet their basic nutritional needs, representatives of nongovernmental organizations said on Thursday.
The sobering assessment coincided with a call from dozens of organizations operating in Gaza demanding that Israel allow humanitarian aid to flow freely into the decimated territory. They accused Israeli authorities of arbitrarily rejecting shipments among the $50 million of life-saving aid supplies stuck at border crossings, and imposing a new registration process on NGOs to delay their work.
“We expected Gaza to be flooded with aid the moment the ceasefire began but that’s not what we’re seeing,” said Bushra Khalidi, the Palestinian territory policy lead at Oxfam.
“If aid continues to be arbitrarily rejected, and if families are not able to access clean water or return to their homes, then this is not a ceasefire that protects civilians.”
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During the first 10 days of the truce, fewer than 1,000 trucks of humanitarian aid were allowed into the territory — a fraction of the 6,600 that should have entered under the terms of the agreement.
Between Oct. 10 and 21, 99 requests to deliver aid into Gaza made by international NGOs, and six from UN agencies, were rejected. This meant shipments of tents, tarpaulins, blankets, food, health supplies and children’s clothing could not reach those in the territory who desperately need them.
Speaking from Deir Al-Balah in Gaza, Bahaa Zaqout of the Palestinian nonprofit PARC said the commercial food supplies flowing into markets in Gaza are unaffordable and do not meet the “minimum nutritional values required for children, women and the most vulnerable groups.”
More than 90 percent of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, according to the UN, and so most people are living in temporary shelters. Zaqout said that the shelters are in poor condition but, with winter approaching, Israel is blocking deliveries of tents and tarpaulins.
“The situation in the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic,” he said. “Even two weeks after the ceasefire began, Israel is banning the most critical items from entering Gaza.”
Jamil Sawalmeh, the country director for ActionAid Palestine, said that despite the ceasefire agreement “the siege continues, and the obstruction of aid also contributes to losing more life in Gaza.”
He called for the international community to put pressure on Israel to allow all humanitarian aid into the territory, along with heavy machinery to help clear the vast amounts of rubble blocking access to some areas.
“How can it be that even with a ceasefire agreement, bringing in a few toothbrushes or cooking pots or coloring books continues to be an uphill battle for international NGOs that have been working in Palestine for decades?” he said.
ActionAid were among 41 organizations that on Thursday called for Israeli authorities to uphold their commitments under the ceasefire deal, and international law, by allowing aid into to enter the territory.
They accused Israel of “arbitrarily rejecting shipments of life-saving assistance into Gaza,” in many cases from international organizations that have worked in the territory for decades.
“The restrictions are depriving Palestinians of lifesaving aid and undermining coordination of the response system in Gaza,” the organizations said. “Humanitarian access is a legal obligation under international law, not a concession of the ceasefire.”
The World Health Organization also warned on Thursday that there had been little improvement in the amount of aid flowing into Gaza since the ceasefire agreement took effect.
The deal, pushed through by US President Donald Trump, aimed to end a conflict that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since it began in October 2023 after a deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel. More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza since the truce was announced.
Israel has been accused by a UN-appointed commission of inquiry of committing acts of genocide during the conflict, and sparking famine conditions by blocking aid.
