As the truce between Israel and Hamas enters its sixth day, humanitarian groups warn that the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is on the brink of a full-scale humanitarian crisis.
After nearly two months of Israeli bombing of Gaza, the “humanitarian pause” was negotiated to allow the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Under the agreement, more humanitarian aid was allowed to enter the Palestinian enclave which is almost completely besieged.
But even though U.N. agencies and groups like the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were able to increase aid entering the enclave through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the temporary increase proved insufficient to meet the now critical needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. almost 80 percent of whom are now displaced.
Here’s a look at how much aid Gaza needs and what it’s getting – even during the truce.
What has the truce changed?
The humanitarian pause began at 7 a.m. local time on Friday. Initially negotiated for four days, it was extended on Tuesday for two days, which will expire on Thursday morning. By Tuesday evening, Hamas had freed 81 of the 240 captured hostages while Israel had freed around 180 Palestinian prisoners.
Aid distribution efforts had previously stalled, with agencies warning that perishable goods were spoiling at the Egyptian border. Today, in the logistical chaos caused by the resumption of flows, they have managed to provide limited assistance to the population.
How much aid is coming into Gaza
Reporting for Tel Aviv Tribune from the southern town of Khan Younis, Hind Khoudary said on Tuesday that at least 750 trucks had crossed the Rafah border into Gaza since Friday.
This represents around 150 trucks per day.
However, on Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) told Tel Aviv Tribune that 200 aid trucks would be needed daily for a period of two months to meet the basic needs of the population. Much more fuel will be needed to enable the UN agency to power vital services such as wastewater treatment plants and water desalination plants.
Even that – 200 trucks per day – is a far cry from what Gaza, under land, sea and air siege by Israel since 2007, was receiving before October 7. Before the current war, an average of 500 aid trucks entered Gaza daily, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Last week, Oxfam described the pause as “a bandage for a bleeding wound”.
What is the humanitarian situation?
The war has devastated Gaza, killing nearly 15,000 people, with at least 6,800 presumed dead under the rubble. Tens of thousands of injured people suffered from a lack of medical care. Although the truce has given Palestinians in the besieged enclave some respite and some respite from the constant din of drones and warplanes, the humanitarian situation is dire.
Israel’s war has divided the territory of 2.3 million people in two. As its attacks on the north intensified, the Israeli army forced populations to move south, where supplies of food, fuel and water are scarce.
International NGO ActionAid said deliveries were largely limited to the south, where 1.8 million people are now displaced. “For many women who are supporting their households and have more mouths to feed in Gaza’s overcrowded shelters, further breaks will do little to improve the situation they face,” said the NGOs.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Khoudary said: “Palestinians are starving, they are struggling to find food in supermarkets and people do not have the basic needs to carry on and survive the famine…”
OCHA said aid had reached badly damaged northern areas, where many people remained – including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, injured and disabled – amid intense air raids on homes, schools and hospitals. But he acknowledged that most of the aid had reached only southern Gaza.
The situation in the north remains dangerous, with concerns over dehydration and epidemics.
Fuel deliveries to the north have been severely restricted by Israeli forces. Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only medical facility still operating in the area, lacks the supplies needed for its operations.
“If the hospital is not supplied with fuel within hours, the department risks losing the people there, including premature babies, in our care,” Dr Hossam told Tel Aviv Tribune Abu Safiya, head of the pediatric intensive care unit.
On Sunday, Cindy McCain, director of the United Nations World Food Program, said the entire enclave was “on the brink of famine.” “It’s something that…will spread.” And with that comes illness and… everything you can imagine,” she told CBS.
After that ?
As the truce draws to a close, residents fear the bombing will resume.
Israel, which intends to wipe out Hamas’ presence in the enclave, said the armed group has a command and control center in southern Gaza.
While the south was described as a “safe zone”, the Israeli army had attacked Khan Younis several times before the truce. The southerners had been ordered to move to a slice of territory, called Muwasi, along the coast.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Guterres, said negotiations must continue so the truce in Gaza can be transformed into a comprehensive humanitarian ceasefire. “This aid barely matches the enormous needs” in Gaza, he said.