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Israel said on Monday it has permitted just five aid lorries into Gaza as it partially eased a two-month blockade that had left the territory’s population on the verge of famine.
The cargo, which included baby food, entered Gaza through the Karam Abu Salem crossing after a "thorough security inspection" by the Defence Ministry, the Israeli military said.
It was the first such entry since March and the UN said nine lorries had been approved for Monday.
But the volume of aid reaching Gaza was merely "a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed", said UN's Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator.
Hundreds of lorries were entering Gaza each day during a ceasefire from January to March but the stockpile has run low and the blockade has resulted in shortages of food and medicine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office approved the partial resumption of aid, reportedly on the recommendation of the military and in an effort to expand operations in the enclave.
Nine lorries arrived at the Karam Abu Salem crossing, unloading supplies that were expected to reach civilians within hours, according to the Shehhaiber Transport Association in Gaza.
“Early this morning, Palestinian truck drivers, co-ordinating with United Nations agencies, headed to the crossing in preparation for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Nahid Shehhaiber, director of the association, told The National.
Mr Shehhaiber said that Israeli authorities had requested a list of drivers the night before to carry out security checks and issue transport permits.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said it had been contacted by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid deliveries. “We are currently in discussions with them on how this would take place, given the conditions on the ground,” an OCHA media co-ordinator told The National.
Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman and Head of Communications at OCHA, said the agency had stated its position clearly "and that is that we cannot be part of any scheme that is not in line with internationally established humanitarian principles – humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality".
"The system for aid delivery we have in place has been tested across the globe and has been proven to work, by reaching those who need it most. We have about 400 distribution points that can quickly and effectively provide assistance in line with humanitarian principles," she told The National.
“We are ready to deliver at scale and have shared a detailed plan of how we plan to deliver aid to people in dire need," added the spokeswoman. "We just need the supplies to enter. Too much time has already been wasted and too many lives lost.”
Highly sensitive
Mr Shehhaiber stated that the initial phase is highly sensitive. “This is a trial period. Civilians must avoid approaching aid trucks, as any disruption could provide Israeli authorities with grounds to halt future deliveries.”
A staff member from the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that preparations began overnight. “We were informed shortly after midnight of the decision to allow aid into Gaza. By morning, we had begun readying warehouses to receive the supplies,” he told The National.
According to the WFP, the same aid distribution mechanisms used before will apply, without direct Israeli to US supervision.
While the exact volume of the aid remains unclear, early reports suggest the shipment falls far short of meeting Gaza’s humanitarian needs. “The situation is extreme. Every minute without aid leads to more deaths from starvation and lack of medicine,” the WFP representative said.
The initial shipment includes flour, milk, baby food, essential supplies, and critical medicine – all needed after more than two months of border closures. However, efforts to restart Gaza’s bakeries remain uncertain and depend on the amount of flour and fuel delivered.
Ismail Al Thawabti, director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, described the situation as “catastrophic”.
“People are dying every day from malnutrition and lack of access to basic food and medicine,” he told The National.
Gaza needs more than 500 aid lorry loads each day to meet basic needs, in addition to at least 50 fuel carriers daily to power water wells and maintain essential services, he added.
“Despite the Israeli announcement, only a very limited number of trucks – fewer than 30, possibly as few as 20 – have entered,” Mr Al Thawabti said. “That’s just 5 per cent of what’s required.”
He called for the immediate and unrestricted flow of essential goods. “The people of Gaza urgently need unimpeded access to food and supplies to survive the famine caused by 20 months of a genocidal war,” he said.
Mr Al Thawabti also urged the international community to intensify pressure on Israel. “Israel must stop using starvation as a weapon of war. This is a clear violation of international law and humanitarian conventions.”
Hamas and “all Palestinian people” reject an earlier US-Israeli plan for aid distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Hamas politburo member Bassem Naem told The National on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran.
“It's not just us as Hamas that reject that plan. All Palestinian people reject that project, so does the UN, and other international organisations, in short because this project violates international humanitarian law.”
At its core this project is “a militarisation of aid and imposing control over the people so that Israel can control who eats and who does not eat, who can get medicine and who cannot,” the official said, describing it as a “step in a project that they are preparing to gather people in concentration camps in the north and south in preparation for mass displacement”.
Israel, he said, is permitted to operate “above the law”. The US and Europe, “Must take steps to force Israel, political steps, [an] economic blockade.”
The UN, the US administration, Arab and EU countries, and key mediators have been urging a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory. But in recent days, those calls have been repeatedly met with Israeli government statements announcing plans to intensify the military campaign — and potentially seize more land.
“The Israeli government’s position is increasingly isolated, both from global calls and from reality. They’ve been told time and again that now is the moment to end the war. There’s nothing left to fight for. Their hardline, far-right stance is keeping the Middle East on edge," an Arab diplomat close to the ceasefire talks told The National.
