Gaza conflict: Humanitarian crisis worsens despite more aid

In the more than two months of devastating bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in retaliation for the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas on Israel, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated sharply.

Israeli airstrikes have devastated most of the territory's infrastructure and resulted in widespread hunger and homelessness. At least 19,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel's military offensive. That's according to the Health Ministry run by Hamas, which has been recognized as a terrorist organization by Germany, the United States, Israel, the European Union, and others.

More than two thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced over the past eight weeks, and UN agencies and international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross have reported substantial obstacles in delivering aid to those in need.

On Tuesday, British Foreign Minister David Cameron was set to meet with French and Italian leaders to advocate for what he described as "increased coordination across European allies to ensure life-saving aid can get into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people."

How much aid is reaching Gaza?

After the Hamas attacks on October 7, Israel enforced a "full" blockade on Gaza, further restricting the already limited flow of food, water, electricity, and fuel into the territory. People in Gaza have been heavily reliant on international aid since 2007, when Israel and Egypt began restricting access to the Palestinian territory after Hamas gained control there.

In early November 2023, some aid was permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. But aid groups repeatedly said the amount was nowhere near enough to stop the ongoing civilian suffering in Gaza.

On December 17, Israel opened the southern Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza for aid trucks for the first time since the October 7 attacks, with the IDF saying on X, formerly Twitter, that the goal was to "double the amount" of food and medicine reaching Gazans.

Last week, the Israeli government committed itself to transferring "200 truckloads per day of food and humanitarian aid," under the terms of a hostage deal struck in November. During a week-long cease-fire in late November, around 200 aid trucks were crossing through Rafah each day, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

On December 12, the OCHA reported that about 100 trucks with humanitarian supplies had arrived every day from Egypt since hostilities resumed on December 1.

But aid experts say this still falls far short of what is necessary.

"What we need today is not just 100 trucks or 200 trucks," Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, told a press conference in mid-December. "We need meaningful, at scale, uninterrupted and unconditional flow of basic commodities into the Gaza Strip. This is the only way to reverse the negative impact of the siege." 

Before October 7, an average of 500 truckloads, including fuel and private sector goods, entered Gaza every working day, according to the OCHA.

Fears of starvation

Recently, videos surfaced on social media, shared by multiple news outlets, showing dozens of Palestinians surrounding trucks transporting water and supplies.

Some of the trucks came to a halt as people climbed onto them, pulling down boxes of food and water, and either carrying them away or passing them to people in the crowds below.

Approximately half of all Gazans are reportedly experiencing starvation, uncertain about their next meal, Carl Skau, the deputy head of the UN World Food Program said on December 14.

Besides shortages of food, fuel and water, many of Gaza's buildings have been demolished or severely damaged, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people now seeking shelter in squalid, cramped conditions.

According to media reports in early December, around 100,000 buildings, including hospitals, have been damaged by the airstrikes. Hamas' media office claims that at least 61% of Gaza's homes have been demolished.

UN officials have decried the state of Gaza's hospitals, most of which are no longer functional. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), not even 12 of the enclave's 36 hospitals are open now, and most of these only partially.

The WHO has also reported a spike in illnesses such as diarrhea, chicken pox, meningitis, and other infectious diseases, due in part to the lack of necessities.

"The very basics, they do not have them. One of my colleagues described people lying on the floor in severe pain, in agony, but they weren't asking for pain relief. They were asking for water," said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris.

Blackouts make aid coordination almost 'impossible'

Regular disruptions to phone networks and internet connections have also left aid agencies unable to coordinate assistance delivery into Gaza, which is already challenging because of a lack of fuel.

"The blackouts make it near impossible to coordinate with partners and contact staff to help them find relative safety, critical assistance and services," said the international NGO Save the Children on Sunday.

Edited by: A. Thomas and M. Kübler