Has more humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza after Israel's promises?

Photo: Tsafrir Abayov Associated Press Israel’s entry controls are the main reason for the slow delivery of humanitarian aid, according to NGOs.

Chloé Rouveyrolles-Bazire – Agence France-Presse in Jerusalem

• Middle East

Many aid workers in the Gaza Strip remain skeptical following recent announcements by Israeli authorities promising to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

“There is no major change, what has come in [in recent days] is very, very little and, in any case, insufficient compared to the needs,” Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), summarized for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to statements by residents and international aid organizations interviewed by AFP, no improvement in the situation has been noted for the moment.

How aid enters ?

Most trucks containing humanitarian aid enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing, on the border between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip. The shipments must then be checked for security reasons.

These checks are the main reason for the slow delivery, according to NGOs, but Israeli authorities cite the inability of these organizations to handle the quantities of aid.

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Once in, the aid must be delivered to the population, but these journeys are also subject to coordination with COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry's agency responsible for managing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. Many NGOs say it is very difficult to communicate with the organization.

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A shortage of fuel for trucks, poor road conditions and fighting in densely populated areas add to the complexity of operations.

Several humanitarian workers told AFP on condition of anonymity that, recently, up to half of the goods were looted, particularly basic necessities.

Faced with these challenges, some countries have carried out airdrops (another 81 packages on Saturday, according to COGAT), and a sea lane was even briefly opened, but neither solution seems sustainable.

What did Israel say??

“The Israeli military, in coordination with COGAT, remains committed to facilitating humanitarian aid,” the two institutions said in a statement on Tuesday, including the evacuation of patients from one hospital to another and the delivery of “68,650 liters of fuel for hospitals.”

COGAT also said it was “facilitating” the ongoing polio vaccination campaign, and the military announced that 30 World Food Program trucks had been able to use one of the rare crossing points in northern Gaza to transport flour.

“Israel has been under [diplomatic] pressure to allow more aid in, especially in the north,” says Tania Hary, director of the NGO Gisha, which documents the crossings between Gaza and Israel.

The United States has indeed threatened to suspend part of its military assistance if Israel does not quickly improve access for humanitarian aid.

But Hary says only a ceasefire could have a significant impact.

“Otherwise, the Israeli authorities would have to take real measures and cooperate to allow aid and [humanitarian] personnel to move freely and safely, and from the beginning, this sincere willingness has not existed,” she believes.

What repercussions on the ground?

“We are asking for aid to be sent to the north, Jabalia is being destroyed,” Umm Firas Shamieh, 42, told AFP from the part of the territory where the Israeli army has been waging an offensive since October 6. “If we don't die from the bombing and shooting, we will die of hunger,” she said.

For Sarah Davies, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, even if more aid entered Gaza, “it would be very difficult to distribute effectively” because of the fighting.

According to the United Nations, 396 trucks entered the Gaza Strip in October, compared to 3,003 in September, 3,096 in August and 4,681 in July. COGAT regularly disputes UN figures.

“We have a lot of trouble getting oxygen concentrators, generators, reconstruction tools in, because they are considered to be 'dual use', military and medical, by the Israeli authorities,” explains a medical aid worker whose NGO has a large presence on the ground.

“It affects us a lot, we have clinics that can even run out of paracetamol [acetaminophen], he says, the month of October is catastrophic.”