In early April 2024, the Israeli government announced that it had allowed 2,832 trucks carrying a total of 40,475 tons of humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. Additionally, 447 tons of materials were transported by sea during the period from mid-October 2023 to the end of March 2024.
This response came following a petition submitted by human rights and left-wing organizations to the Supreme Court regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as reported by the Israeli website “E24."
In an article published on April 3, the website stated that Israel asserts that “a significant amount of humanitarian aid is being delivered to Gaza, posing challenges for non-governmental organizations in distribution”. It further suggests that “the statistics regarding aid entry are meant to refute the numerous international accusations against Israel, which allege its use of hunger as a weapon against Palestinians.”
According to the same source, Israel claims that it is unable to inspect trucks at crossing points, and non-governmental organizations, in turn, are unable to effectively keep up with and transport aid.
Furthermore, Israel alleges that Hamas controls the humanitarian aid entering Gaza. It is exploring, in collaboration with international bodies, the possibility of allowing third parties (not specified) access to the Gaza Strip. This move aims to facilitate the safe passage of relief convoys across the region.
In an article published on April 9, 2024, the website also reported that Israel attributes the mismanagement of humanitarian aid to the failure of distribution by non-governmental organizations, which it believes are not adequately prepared to handle such quantities. It added, “Hundreds of trucks inspected by the army remain parked on the Gaza side of the border due to the lack of response from these organizations.”
This Israeli response came after over six months of the war it waged on the Gaza Strip, during which all crossings were closed, aid entry was prohibited, water and electricity were cut off, and infrastructure and health facilities were destroyed.
While organizations argue that Israel did not create the safe conditions necessary for efficient aid delivery, Israel insists that the humanitarian organizations did not fulfill their obligation to distribute aid within the Gaza Strip.
While Israel attempts to deny its responsibility, media reports and human rights organizations indicate that civilians trapped within the Strip have been subjected to starvation for months due to the actions of occupation troops, and that “a famine is looming, especially in the north.”
United Nations Office: Israel Imposes Restrictions That Hinder the Arrival of Aid to the Gaza Strip
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated in a report dated April 11 that Israel prevents food convoys supervised by the United Nations from reaching northern Gaza three times more than other aid convoys.
According to OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, the Israeli government did not provide a convincing explanation for its actions. Furthermore, “Israel often refutes these accusations, and the issue is left unresolved.”
Laerke continued, stating that the delivery of life-saving aid to the devastated Strip continues to be hampered by the Israeli authorities' imposition of restrictions and rejection of planned aid movements.
He confirmed that during last March, more than half of the food missions coordinated by the United Nations to high-risk areas, which required coordination with the Israeli authorities, were rejected or hindered.
He also highlighted the discrepancy between the statistics provided by Israel and those provided by the U.N. He explained that the Israeli Ministry of Defense unit responsible for coordinating and facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza counts the trucks it examines and sends across the border. Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counts the trucks that arrive at its warehouses.
In the same context, he explained that transporting aid within Gaza presents another complication due to obstacles and denial of access. He added that “food convoys expected to head to the north, where 70% of the population suffers from famine-like conditions, are three times more likely to be rejected than other humanitarian convoys.”
Laerke added that while Israel complains about the UN’s distribution shortcomings, "half of the convoys that we tried to send to the north carrying food were rejected by these same authorities."
Human Rights Watch: Starvation Imposed by Israel Is Killing Children in Gaza and Constitutes a War Crime
Human Rights Watch reported that children in Gaza have been dying from starvation-related complications since the Israeli government began using starvation as a weapon of war, describing it as a "war crime."
Human Rights Watch also added that; Concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions and suspend arms transfers to press the Israeli government to ensure access to humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza, in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law and the recent International Court of Justice order in South Africa’s genocide case.
It also added that; all evidence points towards a major acceleration of death and malnutrition, as 70 percent of the population is estimated to be experiencing catastrophic hunger, famine could occur anytime between mid-March and May.
It continued that; Since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, the Israeli government has deliberately blocked the delivery of aid, food, and fuel into Gaza, while impeding humanitarian assistance and depriving civilians of the means to survive.
Considering that the Israeli officials ordering or carrying out these actions “are committing collective punishment against the civilian population and the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, both of which are war crimes.”
According to the same source; Israeli government actions that undermine the ability of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to carry out its recognized role in distributing aid in Gaza have exacerbated the effects of the restrictions.
CNN Investigation: Israel Arbitrarily Obstructs the Entry of Aid
An investigation published by CNN revealed that Israel is arbitrarily obstructing the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli agency that controls access to Gaza for the multi-billion-dollar aid effort has imposed arbitrary and contradictory criteria.
According to testimonies and documents obtained by CNN, Israel refuses entry to the Gaza Strip for anesthetics, anesthesia machines, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, and water filtration systems. Other items that have ended up in bureaucratic limbo include dates, sleeping bags, medicines to treat cancer, water purification tablets and maternity kits.
The investigation also stated that queues of trucks bound for the enclave have been backed up along the highway leading from the Egyptian town of Arish, a major logistical hub for aid, to the Rafah crossing with Gaza. In a satellite image from February 21, a queue of trucks can be seen stretching out for 4 miles from the crossing.
People in Northern Gaza Forced To Survive on 245 Calories a Day per Person
At the beginning of April, Oxfam stated that people in northern Gaza have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day (less than a can of fava beans), which is a minuscule amount of food representing less than 12 percent of the recommended daily calorie intake."
"Oxfam also believes that more than 300,000 people are still trapped in the northern Gaza Strip, unable to leave, while Israeli forces continue their military attacks inside the Strip."
"Oxfam also stated that this minuscule amount of food represents less than 12 percent of the recommended daily 2,100-calorie intake needed per person, calculated using demographic data considering variations by age and gender. Last week, the Israeli government informed UNRWA, by far the largest aid provider in Gaza, that its convoys would no longer be allowed into the north."
"In the same context, Oxfam confirmed that Israel is making deliberate choices to starve civilians and is ignoring both the International Court of Justice's order to prevent genocide and U.N. Security Council resolutions."
"For its part, the World Food Program indicates that children in the northern Gaza Strip are crying out from hunger and dying of malnutrition, while families risk gunfire to reach aid convoys. They survive on animal fodder and soup made from leaves and grass."
"The WFP also explained that levels of hopelessness and food insecurity could escalate the humanitarian catastrophe into something much worse. The results of the international classification indicate that famine is expected to occur there between now and May 2024."
"The WFP emphasized that if a ceasefire is achieved, allowing humanitarian staff and supplies to move freely, and enabling Gazans to access assistance safely, organizations like the WFP can rapidly scale up to supply enough food for more than a million of the hungriest people a month."
"The WFP also confirmed that at best, 200 trucks with humanitarian supplies arrive daily in the Gaza Strip, when at least 300 are required. Long lines of vehicles remain backed up at the two Gaza border crossings, Rafah and Kerem Shalom."
World Food Programme's Country Director in the Palestinian Territories, Matthew Hollingsworth, said that Gaza needs a tsunami of aid, not just a drop of it. He added, "We need approvals (referring to Israel's approval) to provide massive and nonstop deliveries."
500 Trucks Were Entering Gaza Before the Gaza War
Before the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which entered its seventh month, the rate of truck entry into the strip was approximately 500 per day, according to official figures released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) at the beginning of last March. Among these, 150 trucks were loaded with food, and 350 trucks were loaded with other supplies.
According to the same source, the rate of truck entry into the Gaza Strip has significantly declined since October 7, the date of the implementation of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Currently, it does not exceed 94 trucks per day, with 63 trucks carrying food and 31 trucks carrying other supplies.
On Tuesday, April 16, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that Israel continues to impose "illegal" restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite claims by Israel and others that obstacles have been reduced.
“Those providing humanitarian assistance or trying to obtain it must not be attacked,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a press conference in Geneva.
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