US President Donald Trump has claimed that aid has entered Gaza at “record levels” but the reality is vastly different, humanitarian workers on the ground have told The National.
“Since the ceasefire, my team has helped deliver record levels of humanitarian aid to Gaza, reaching civilians at historic speed and scale,” Mr Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social on Thursday.
Mr Trump's comments came after US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the beginning of the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, despite parts of stage one not being fulfilled.
That includes the delivery of aid in what was supposed to be unfettered amounts, not only to meet daily needs but to assist with the recovery of a population that has suffered famine, displacement and desperate winter conditions.
The Rafah border crossing continues to be blocked for aid and people, dozens of agencies have had their registrations revoked by Israel, and the prospects of an improvement to the scale, frequency and quality of aid entering Gaza are dwindling.
Humanitarian groups told The National that they do not anticipate a significant change in the process of delivering aid into Gaza during the second phase, based on the discrepancy between what was promised and what Israel has allowed.
Despite Mr Trump's claims, Israel approved only 66 per cent of 4,202 aid requests in 2025, including after the ceasefire.
A US-run system called the Civil Military Co-ordination Centre (CMCC), which was expected to bring understanding among Americans, Israelis and humanitarian groups, has not bridged the gaps in aid delivery since the ceasefire.
“We thought that the Americans would parachute in and take over. But it hasn't been the case. The Americans say things, but it's ultimately the Israelis who have the final say,” a humanitarian source told The National.
NGO sources also said that real change on the ground will only happen if enough aid is coming in.
“Everyone is obsessed with trucks,” the Norwegian Refugee Council's Communications Advisor in Palestine Shaina Low told The National. “You can be bringing in trucks and trucks of cell phones and that's not going to feed people or keep them dry.”
Many of the humanitarian items that are necessary for Gazans, like shelter kits made up of tarpaulin, nails and wood required to fortify tents, or food like frozen meat and mango, have been rejected by Israel.
In October, toys, games and early childhood development kits were banned from entry, according to a list compiled by the UN.
In other cases, items that had been labelled “dual use” by Israel, purportedly because they could be used for military purposes, have been allowed into Gaza as taxable, commercial goods.
This has prompted aid groups to buy items on the open market at exorbitant prices to distribute them to people, in place of items that are sitting in lorries waiting to be offloaded just across the border in Jordan and Egypt.
Mothers such as Tahani Al Qayed say they cannot even get nappies for their children.
“I expected that with the ceasefire there would be better care and attention,” she said. “I thought we and the children would be looked after and that aid would increase. But unfortunately, the situation has remained the same, and we have not felt any improvement. On the contrary, things are getting worse day by day.”
Even those who have had the chance to receive tents are not guaranteed to be better off this winter. Speaking to The National, a paramedic who helps those in need said some people have to sell their shelters for food or other supplies.
Another NGO worker said that even tents that are up to humanitarian standards are getting blown away in the strong winds because displacement sites have not been prepared to accommodate the vast number of people in them.
“We usually begin preparing for winter in the summer,” another NGO source told The National. But groups were unable to simply because the ceasefire was struck in October – while Gaza was bracing for a cold winter and months after little to no aid had entered.
