Gaza’s hunger crisis: Israel says over 120 food aid trucks distributed amid ‘tactical pause’

More than 120 truckloads of food aid have been distributed by the United Nations and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a promised limited break in fighting, Israel has said. On Sunday, Israel declared a “tactical pause” in military operations in parts of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up food distribution. “Over 120 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organisations,” said COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. “An additional 180 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup,” COGAT said in a post on X. Separately, Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have conducted parachute air drops of smaller quantities of aid. UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher told the BBC that “quite a bit of food” was brought into Gaza on Sunday but added that “lots of that got looted”. While welcoming the new influx of aid, he said the deliveries were a “drop in the ocean” compared to what was needed, stressing the next few days were essential for the well-being of Gazans. Israel’s “tactical pause” applies to al-Mawasi in the southwest of the coastal strip, Deir al-Balah in the centre and Gaza City in the north – areas where the Israeli army is not operating, according to the military. Humanitarian corridors will be in place from 6am to 11pm to allow the UN and aid organisations to deliver food and medicine to the population in Gaza. More than 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza and, before the eruption of the latest 21-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas, it took roughly 500 trucks per day of commercial trade and humanitarian aid to supply the territory. In recent weeks, UN agencies have been warning of a life-threatening famine as aid supplies dry up, and international pressure has been building for a ceasefire to allow a massive relief operation. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees earlier welcomed Israel’s announced measures but said they would not be sufficient to avert a deepening humanitarian crisis in the territory. In a statement posted on social media, the agency called for the opening of all border crossings into Gaza and warned that “flooding Gaza with assistance” was needed to prevent worsening hunger. It said at least 500 to 600 trucks per day were required and expressed hope that it could now bring “thousands of trucks loaded with food, medicine and hygiene supplies” from Jordan and Egypt into Gaza. The World Food Programme said in a social media post that it had “teams on the ground and enough food to reach people in need across the Gaza Strip at scale”. The UN children’s charity Unicef welcomed the announcement by Israel of aid airdrops. “This is an opportunity to begin to reverse this catastrophe and save lives,” Unicef said on social media. “Since the collapse of the ceasefire in March, children have been trapped in a nightmare and deprived of the basics to survive. They are hungry, traumatised and have no safe place to go.” “The entire population of over 2 million people in Gaza is severely food insecure. One out of every three people has not eaten for days, and 80 per cent of all reported deaths by starvation are children.” Israel’s government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, furiously denies that it is using hunger as a weapon of war, and instead accuses the aid agencies of failing to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza’s border crossing points. “More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organisations equals more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza,” COGAT said. Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticised the resumption of larger aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. On social media, Ben-Gvir said the move was a slap in the face for Israeli soldiers. The delivery of humanitarian aid was tantamount to “keeping the enemy alive”, Ben-Gvir also wrote. The Gaza war was triggered by the attack by Hamas and other Palestinian extremist organisations on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage. Since then, nearly 60,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the territory. These figures, which cannot be independently verified, do not distinguish between civilians and fighters but are considered largely reliable by UN organisations.

Gaza’s hunger crisis: Israel says over 120 food aid trucks distributed amid ‘tactical pause’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The delivery of humanitarian aid is generating cautious optimism among relief agencies amid a looming hunger crisis

The delivery of humanitarian aid is generating cautious optimism among relief agencies amid a looming hunger crisis