Gaza ceasefire prompts highest volumes of humanitarian aid inflow since start of war

In keeping with one of the key points of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, and despite logistical challenges, the volumes of essential supplies flowing into Gaza since Sunday are far higher than before the truce, which is seen as key to beginning to alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis in the Strip. However, humanitarian agencies warn that the needs among the population are enormous and that the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza are in a situation of great vulnerability.

On the first day of the ceasefire, Sunday, more than 630 aid trucks entered Gaza, according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher. Of these, at least 300 headed north, to the most devastated area of the Strip. Another 915 trucks managed to enter on Monday, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) late in the day. This is the largest daily volume that has entered the Strip since the start of the war in October 2023. Until now, the largest flow recorded was on May 3, 2024 when 340 trucks arrived. Although there is no exact record, it is likely that a significant number of these trucks are those that Egypt has allowed to pass, although not directly to the Strip, because Israel prohibits it, but via an Israeli crossing. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, also said Monday morning that aid and some commercial supplies were flowing “without problems.”

Much of the focus is now on food aid agencies, as nearly all of Gaza’s population faces high levels of food insecurity and some areas may have already crossed the threshold of famine. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it has been sending aid convoys from Egypt and Israel into the Strip through the border crossings of Karam Abu Salem in the south, and Zikim in the north, since Sunday. The agency says it aims to deliver at least 150 truckloads of food a day to begin “flooding” the Strip with supplies.

As well as delivering prepared aid across Gaza, WFP is also trying to replenish local bakeries and provide nutritional supplements to thousands of malnourished children, and the agency says it will begin providing vouchers and cash to vulnerable families as more commercial supplies arrive. “This is a vital first step, but the needs are immense,” said Executive Director Cindy McCain, who said it was crucial that all border crossings remain open and functioning “efficiently, effectively, and reliably.”

Another major challenge for humanitarian agencies is trying to quickly rehabilitate Gaza’s health system, which has been devastated by the Israeli offensive. It is estimated that at least 110,000 people have been wounded in the war, with thousands more contracting infectious diseases or suffering from malnutrition. However, only half of the Strip’s 36 hospitals are still partially functioning, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which, along with other organizations, has also begun sending medical supplies to try to cover the most urgent needs.

One of the countries making the greatest effort to increase the flow of aid to Gaza is Egypt, the only country with which the Strip shares a border apart from Israel. During the first two days of the truce, the Arab country has allowed the passage of 650 trucks of aid, of which 323 were sent on Monday, including 13 loaded with fuel, according to figures provided by local authorities. However, so far Egyptian trucks are not able to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, which directly connects the two territories, due to inspection requirements by the Israeli authorities and the destruction of the Palestinian terminal at the crossing. Therefore, Egyptian convoys must first be diverted to Israel and it is not known how much of their cargo is already inside the Strip.

Qatar, which along with the United States and Egypt led the mediation efforts that led to the Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement, announced on Monday that it would finance a land bridge to supply Gaza with 12.5 million liters of fuel during the first 10 days of the truce. The first shipment was transported to the Strip on Monday by 25 trucks that entered through the Karam Abu Salem crossing in the south and is expected to supply electricity to hospitals, shelters for displaced people, and other basic services.

At least 600 truckloads of aid are expected to enter Gaza each day during the first phase of the ceasefire, with UNRWA sources telling this newspaper that 200 of these are expected to come from Egypt, although the country has the capacity to send more. In the four and a half months before the ceasefire, Israeli authorities allowed only a tenth of that aid in, according to estimates based on UN data.

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