In a case of “too little, too late”, the office of Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced on Sunday the country would “authorise the entry of a basic amount of food” into warn-torn Gaza to prevent a hunger crisis there.
But such a crisis has existed for months. It has been clear not only to the Palestinians enduring it, insofar as they can, but to much of the wider international community, too. This and other hardships that have stalked Gaza’s civilian population for much of the war are a result of Israel’s intermittent decisions throughout the conflict to bar the entry of food, shelter and medicine into Gaza to varying degrees. Intransigence from both Hamas and the Israelis have made a ceasefire deal increasingly difficult to agree, leading to more suffering for Palestinians and for the hostages that remain in Gaza. The latest blockade, the subject of Mr Netanyahu's announcement, began on March 2.
Last week, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitor, warned that Gaza’s entire population was at critical risk of famine, with half a million people facing starvation. Similarly, UN agencies have warned of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.
Should Israel’s extremely limited proposal come to pass, it is unclear how it could work. Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins. Earlier this month, Israel’s security cabinet endorsed military plans to capture and hold Gaza while moving its remaining population south into a purported safe zone, something that will only compound Gazan civilians’ already dire situation. Israeli forces are currently carrying out air strikes and a ground offensive, and Unrwa – the official agency for UN relief efforts in the occupied territories – said on Sunday that the death toll among its staff in Gaza has passed "the gruesome milestone of 300".
Nonetheless, the precarity of Gaza's situation means even the slim chance of a positive development should be seized and built upon. The chances of that happening depends on more diplomatic pressure being brought to bear on Israel, given that the country has near-total control over what goes in and out of Gaza.
There are signs that such pressure is building. The blockade on humanitarian aid has strained ties with foreign allies and trading partners, particularly in Europe where there are growing calls from some EU member states for a review of the bloc’s association agreement with Israel. In addition, last week the UK said it would not support any aid delivery system in Gaza that seeks to achieve political or military objectives, or that endangers vulnerable civilians. This followed US and Israeli plans at the start of May for aid distribution that would bypass UN-led channels, an idea that aid groups say militarises humanitarian assistance.
But it is arguably the recent visit of US President Donald Trump to the Gulf that eventually drew Washington’s attention to the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. In an interview on Friday, Mr Trump said it had been made clear to him during his trip that Palestinians in Gaza were starving. Renewed American focus on Gaza was underlined on Sunday by US Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff who accompanied Mr Trump to the Gulf. The negotiator told ABC News that although the situation in Gaza was “logistically complicated”, the US administration did not want to see a humanitarian crisis, “and we will not allow it to occur on President Trump’s watch”.
However, a true aid effort is impossible without a ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. Pressure of the kind being brought to bear on Israel’s leadership for its part in this disaster should be used to energise the talks process taking place right now to get a truce over the line. Palestinian leadership is needed too, for a true path forward. Without all sides committed to a lasting solution, only half-measures are possible and the time for those has long passed.
