With only five aid trucks allowed in after eleven weeks of total closure, the UN and NGOs accuse Israel of deliberately worsening an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Soldecanarias.net / Redacciòn
The Gaza Strip is facing its most severe humanitarian collapse since the start of Israel’s military offensive in October 2023. The United Nations has issued a dire warning: 14,000 babies could die within the next 48 hours unless humanitarian aid is allowed in urgently and on a massive scale. Hunger, destruction, and the collapse of basic services have pushed the enclave to the brink.
On Monday, Israel allowed five humanitarian aid trucks to enter Gazathe first in over two months. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu presented this as a gesture of flexibility, but the UN has deemed it vastly insufficient. “It’s a drop in the ocean,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Humanitarian Chief. “Aid must reach the civilians who desperately need it, and we must be allowed to scale it up immediately.”
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated that “the only thing entering Gaza is bombs” and that “there are no safe zones.” Constant air, land, and sea bombardments have caused hundreds of deaths and mass displacement. Gaza’s civil infrastructure and healthcare system are in ruins.
The Naser Hospital, one of the last partially functional medical centers in southern Gaza, was bombed this week, as were the power generators of the Indonesian Hospital in the northpreviously the last fully operational hospital in the area. Humanitarian groups denounce a complete siege that prevents the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies.
Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise. In the past 24 hours alone, at least 53 people including women and children—have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel claims its operations aim to prevent aid from reaching Hamas, but aid agencies argue that the civilian population is being collectively punished.
Groups like Oxfam warn that the blockade kills not only with bombs but with hunger. The limited aid Israel has allowed in falls drastically short of covering basic needs: food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, and fuel are in critically short supply.
The international response is hardening. The UK, France, and Canada have warned they are ready to take “concrete measures” against Israel if the offensive does not stop. They also expressed determination to push forward recognition of the Palestinian state.
With more than 53,475 killed and over 121,400 wounded, most of them women and children, Gaza is enduring a catastrophe of historic proportions. Netanyahu has vowed to “take full control of all areas” of Gaza and to allow only the “minimum” humanitarian aid necessary to continue the offensive, while the international community calls for a ceasefire and real humanitarian access.
