The first sacks of flour enter the Gaza Strip and some bakeries reopen.

BarcelonaThe first trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip were finally able to unload some basic goods on Thursday, which began reaching the civilian population. The World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed that the first sacks of flour have been distributed, allowing some bakeries in the south and center of the enclave to resume operations after several weeks of inactivity. because of Israel's total blockade"We are in a race against time to avoid widespread hunger," said Antoine Renard, director of the UN food agency in Palestine.

A total of 198 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since Monday through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva confirmed to Efe on Thursday. Of these, around 90 have been received by various humanitarian organizations and associations for distribution of their contents—which include nutritional products, medicines, and flour—according to UN spokesman Jens Laerke.

After Two and a half months of absolute blockade on the entry of food, water, medicineWithout other resources, Israel authorized the entry of trucks on Monday, but humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip could not be unloaded until Thursday. "There are still significant difficulties in loading and distributing goods due to insecurity, the risk of looting, delays in coordination approvals [with the Israeli army], and inadequate routes provided by Israeli forces, which are not viable for the movement of cargo," Laerke warned.

Finally, distribution began to unblock this Thursday. In addition to flour and other basic foodstuffs, medical supplies have also entered. However, the president of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Younis al-Khatib, said that many trucks are still stuck at the Kerem Shalom border crossing and that a high risk of violence and looting remains, given the desperate situation of the population.

The director of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, Amyad al-Shawa, explained to Reuters that bakeries supporting the UN World Food Programme will produce the bread, and agency staff will distribute it, in a system that he said will sell the control directly. "The idea is to try to reach the neediest families, those who are desperate, as this is just the beginning," says al-Shawa.

"A drop in the ocean"

The supplies from these nearly 200 trucks, when they can reach the population, will still be completely insufficient: before the Israeli offensive in Gaza began, the Strip received half a thousand trucks daily, and now the needs are much greater. "During the ceasefire, 600 trucks used to enter every day, so the current amount is a drop in the ocean, it's nothing," laments Al Shawa.

Israel had blocked the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 2, before unilaterally breaking the latest ceasefire. This, combined with the massive military offensive, is raising the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory to unsustainable levels. According to a warning issued last week by the World Health Organization (WHO), half a million Palestinians are at risk of famine due to Israel's "deliberate blockade" of Gaza and At least 52 children had died from malnutrition since the beginning of March.

This Thursday, Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan said that 29 "hunger-related deaths" of children and the elderly have been confirmed in Gaza in recent days and warned that thousands more are at risk.

Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, has resulted in the deaths of 16,503 children, including more than 900 babies under one year old, the enclave's Health Ministry reported.