Israel continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza despite ceasefire

Special Envoy to JerusalemThe exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Monday marked a rare moment of relief and fleeting hope in Gaza — but the suffering is far from over. There can be no talk of peace yet: two Israeli drone strikes killed five Palestinians in eastern Gaza City on Tuesday, under still-unclear circumstances. The Strip is remains devastated after two years of relentless bombardment — indiscriminate attacks that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Israel has subjected Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to a campaign of engineered deprivation, leaving homes, hospitals, water systems, electricity grids, and roads reduced to rubble.

The ceasefire agreement provides for a massive influx of humanitarian aid just ahead of winter, with international agencies ready to deliver thousands of tons of food. Yet Israel continues to block the entry of essential supplies for a population that has survived what many now describe as two years of genocide. The challenge is monumental: Gaza is enduring the worst hunger crisis in its history.

The Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border — Gaza’s only lifeline — remains closed. Israel announced it would not open the crossing on Tuesday and that beginning Wednesday only 300 trucks would be allowed through, half the number stipulated in the agreement. Officials justified the delay by claiming Hamas has not yet returned the bodies of the 28 Israelis who died in captivity since October 7, 2023.

Hamas had warned when the deal was signed last week that it could not return all the bodies and that Israel would have to locate some of them itself. After delivering the 20 surviving hostages, the group handed over four bodies on Tuesday — three of them already identified by Israeli authorities, with one pending confirmation and 24 still believed to be in Gaza. Tuesday night, four more bodies were returned by Hamas, Israel confirmed.

"The job is not done, the dead [hostages] have not been returned, as promised," Donald Trump also denounced on social media, aligning himself with Israel's argument. But despite this—and despite the blockage of humanitarian aid—Trump has declared the first phase of the agreement complete: "Phase two starts right now!" A second phase that will have to address some of the most complicated points, such as the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. Asked about this last point at a press conference, Trump sought to pressure the Islamist militant group and threatened to "violently disarm it" if it did not do so voluntarily.

"Every hour lost is critical"

Since the ceasefire took effect on Friday, Israeli authorities have allowed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza only in dribs and drabs. The main relief agency working on the ground, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), confirmed to this newspaper that it has yet to receive authorization to bring in even a single truck.

Israel claims that 400 trucks have entered since last Wednesday — a figure UN sources consulted by ARA could not verify. The ceasefire agreement signed in Egypt calls for 600 aid trucks per day, but on Tuesday Israel announced that only 300 would be allowed to enter starting Wednesday.

“In a situation of widespread malnutrition like the one in Gaza, every hour lost is critical,” UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler told ARA. “The entry of aid cannot be delayed even a moment longer.”

The agency has been unable to deliver any supplies to Gaza since March 2, when Israel unilaterally decided to close the Rafah crossing — despite the truce agreed upon at the end of January. Fowler explained that UNRWA’s warehouses in Egypt and Jordan are stocked with enough food to feed Gaza’s population for three months: packages covering the nutritional needs of a family of five for two weeks, including rice, legumes, canned vegetables and fish, sugar, and protein-rich biscuits. The agency also has hygiene kits ready, containing soap, diapers, and disinfectants to help prevent the spread of disease.

UNRWA’s contributions represent roughly half of all humanitarian aid the UN is prepared to send to Gaza. But Israel outlawed the agency a year ago and severed all ties, alleging — without evidence — that it was linked to Hamas. “Maintaining this ban is effectively equivalent to blocking half of the humanitarian aid available in the region for Palestinians in Gaza,” Fowler warned.

Beyond securing supplies, the distribution of aid in Gaza presents an extraordinarily complex challenge, given the conditions of destruction and widespread hunger. UNRWA remains the chief humanitarian actor in the Strip: it employs 12,000 staff, most of them Palestinian, and maintains vital infrastructure for warehouses, vehicles, and community outreach. No other organization is equipped to deliver mass aid safely or to ensure it reaches the most vulnerable.

The experience of the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), set up as a parallel aid structure last spring, was catastrophic. Its distribution points, managed by mercenaries, became death traps for desperate civilians. Young people risked their lives, braving snipers and violent crowds, simply to collect a sack of flour for their families.

Médecins Sans Frontières continues to operate, but independent NGOs inside Gaza also face extraordinary obstacles. Joan Tubau, coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, described from Jerusalem how the group was forced to abandon Gaza City two weeks ago due to intensifying airstrikes near their medical facilities, homes, and warehouses. “Ground forces and tanks were approaching. We withdrew to the centre and Bal, reclaimed two field hospitals, and now directly support Palestinian hospitals in Al Shifa and Al Nasser. We have carried out scouting missions and are already preparing to resume work in the city.” Tubau confirmed that “not everything needed or stipulated in the agreement is entering,” although MSF maintains some stocks of fuel and medical materials.

Healthcare needs are overwhelming. “There are half a million people in Gaza City alone, many repeatedly uprooted over the past two years. Thousands have suffered injuries of varying severity; vaccination campaigns have been halted, and winter is approaching. Only two hospitals are working — at just 10% of their capacity. Not even a single bakery remains operational.” Tubau stressed that “the border is not open as it should be.” People urgently need medicines, fresh food, fuel for hospitals and water plants, and spare parts for ambulances and emergency gear. MSF reports that crossings have been closed, though Israel has pledged that the Rafah and Eretz border points will reopen in coming days: “We hope it will be as soon as possible.”

The UN has launched an emergency plan aiming to scale up humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering daily to reach more than two million people. Relief operations are set to distribute food and cash to 200,000 families, restore water and sanitation for 1.4 million people, reactivate health services, establish winter shelters, and reopen schools for 700,000 children. The UN is calling for ten urgent measures: weekly entry of 1.9 million litres of fuel, restoration of cooking gas, additional safe corridors, protection for civilians and humanitarian workers, guaranteed NGO access, and emergency funding to reverse the crisis.