The current operational environment in Gaza remains extremely challenging. The UN has enough food in the region or en route to feed the entire Gaza population for at least three months. However, access constraints have meant that at least 14,000 tons of food aid were offloaded by hungry crowds before they reached the warehouses. The supplies had been procured through the UN-coordinated aid mechanism and collected from border crossings in July.
The UN estimates that more than 62,000 tonnes of food are required each month to cover basic humanitarian needs. However, the food assistance that has entered Gaza in the months of June and July was less than a quarter of that minimum amount.
The UN has repeatedly spoken out about and documented the myriad access constraints they face, including the closure of all but one border crossing, long delays in obtaining Israeli clearances and the limited number of designated safe routes for humanitarian convoys. These are not just statements. They are backed by video footage and first-hand reporting that show the conditions UN convoys face when trying to transport supplies. Even where routes exist, they are often overcrowded due to repeated displacement orders and delays at Israeli checkpoints. This exposes convoys to large crowds of people who, pushed to the brink of starvation, wait desperately for aid trucks in the hope of securing any food they can find.
Urgently needed relief supplies are stuck
CARE continues to provide lifesaving assistance through its primary healthcare centre in Deir Al-Balah and by trucking water to communities with little to no access. However, since 2 March, when Israel imposed an 11-week total siege before reopening a single border crossing with strict controls over what goods can enter and when, we have been unable to bring in any supplies. This includes desperately needed medicines, baby kits, hygiene kits and food packages, which remain stuck in warehouses in the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt.