What is happening in Gaza while the whole world looks towards Iran?

JerusalemWhile international headlines focus on the war between the United States and Israel against Iran, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is rapidly deteriorating. The closure of the Rafah crossing, soaring food prices, and the expulsion of international staff from major NGOs paint a picture reminiscent of the worst moments of the siege.

The new regional escalation has had immediate consequences in the territory. On the very day the attack began, February 28, Israel decided to close all border crossings into Gaza until further notice, including the Rafah crossing, where it had already been severely restricting the entry of humanitarian aid for some time.

According to Israeli authorities, since the ceasefire began last October, four times the amount of humanitarian aid needed by the population has been delivered to the Gaza Strip. Therefore, according to this version, presented without evidence, current reserves should be sufficient. However, humanitarian organizations operating on the ground offer a very different perspective and warn that the available reserves will only last a few days.

The Rafah crossing had been operating with limitations since its partial reopening in early February. Israeli authorities were only allowing about 100 people to cross per day, 50 entering Gaza and 50 leaving—a figure clearly insufficient according to international institutions such as the UN and the European Union. At that time, Save the Children also warned that, at this rate, it would take more than a year to evacuate all the people needing medical treatment, at least 20,000.

"All border crossings must be reopened, as well as a humanitarian corridor between Gaza and East Jerusalem and the West Bank so that these patients can be treated in hospitals that are part of the Palestinian health system," Keren Shavit, project coordinator for the NGO Physicians for Human Rights Israel, explained to ARA.

On March 3, Israel partially reopened another crossing point, Kerem Shalom. Some 150 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, goods, and approximately 500,000 liters of fuel were able to enter Gaza. However, this figure falls far short of the needs of the more than two million people living in the Strip.

Faced with the closure of border crossings, Gazans, gripped by panic and with the recent memory of the hunger they suffered last summer, when they experienced a total lockdown, have gone to the markets to buy basic supplies, driving up the prices of essential products such as flour, rice or cooking oil.

Food prices are skyrocketing

Some retailers have raised their prices by more than 300% in just a few days, taking advantage of the uncertainty and panic, according to the Israeli Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. A 25-kilo sack of flour, for example, has gone from around 8 euros to between 22 and 28 euros. And many people simply don't have the money to buy it.

Added to all this is another key factor: the ever-increasing difficulties faced by many international humanitarian organizations. Since March 1, virtually no international staff from the main NGOs remain in Gaza after... Israel will withdraw the operating licenses of 37 organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam. for refusing to hand over the list of its Palestinian staff. Now, although the Israeli Supreme Court has issued an injunction that would allow humanitarian activities to continue while the legal case is resolved, many of them are still not operating normally.

Meanwhile, the healthcare system remains stretched to its limits. "The healthcare system is in a critical situation, practically destroyed," Shavit explains. "The small amounts of aid that are arriving are not enough. A complete overhaul of the system is necessary: ​​medicines must be available without restrictions, and warehouses must be fully stocked. Laboratories and medical equipment also need to be repaired, but many spare parts cannot get in."

The list of dual-use items includes goods that Israel believes could be used by armed groups. Israeli authorities do not specify which products are included. Humanitarian organizations have reported that the entry of alcohol for disinfection and parts for repairing medical equipment used in cancer screening is being blocked.

According to the UN, only 260 of the 619 health facilities remain operational, and 90% of those are only partially operational. Many hospitals are suffering from shortages of medicines, surgical supplies, and fuel essential for the generators that keep them running.

All of this is happening while airstrikes, artillery fire, and gunfire have not completely ceased, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Since the start of the truce, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 630 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,600 wounded by the Israeli army.