The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is now open, but Israel continues to obstruct deliveries of humanitarian aid. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, 31,178 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since the October 10th ceasefire agreement, out of a total of 72,000 trucks, representing a 43 percent compliance rate.

The ceasefire agreement stated Israel would allow the entry of more than 500 aid trucks a day to save Gaza from famine. It was also agreed that aid would enter through Gaza’s crossings connecting it to the world, including the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, the Rafah land crossing, and the Zikim crossing. However, the Israeli occupation does not allow aid to enter Gaza directly through the Rafah crossing. Instead, aid must enter through the Kerem Abu Salem crossing before entering Gaza, which complicates and delays the delivery of aid.

Amjad al-Shawa, head of the NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, said that humanitarian aid is dwindling due to ongoing Israeli restrictions and the prevention of international organizations from delivering their aid. Al-Shawa explained that 90 percent of the Strip’s residents have lost their sources of income and are living in dire circumstances, relying directly on humanitarian aid. Just 10 percent of Gaza’s current medical needs are being met by available supplies of medical aid.

Despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza four months ago, hunger continues to ravage thousands of Palestinian families in the Strip, especially children and vulnerable groups

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that the needs in Gaza remain immense. The WFP delivered food aid to 1.3 million people in Gaza last month, the largest number of people it has reached since the war began.

Despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza four months ago, hunger continues to ravage thousands of Palestinian families in the Strip, especially children and vulnerable groups. The meager food aid allowed in by the occupation authorities through the crossings has not sustained many, due to the dire living conditions left by the war of annihilation over the past two years.

In tents, hospitals, and medical clinics, stories of acute malnutrition, protein deficiency, and the lack of healthy food are repeated daily, amidst widespread unemployment, lack of income, exorbitant prices, and environmental pollution that further exacerbates the already fragile health of children.

Citizens in Gaza feel that the war continues, contrary to what the media reports. The reality in Gaza remains unchanged: scarcity of aid and food supplies, and soaring prices.

Rima Kurd, 40, from Khan Younis, said she is struggling to feed her six children in the absence of aid, “I haven’t received anything. I don’t see any international relief organizations operating officially and consistently in Gaza.”

Kurd also noted that the impact of the defunding of UNRWA has had a tangible effect on access to food in Gaza. “We used to receive UNRWA aid regularly before the war; we didn’t need to stock up on supplies for our homes. Now, we’re hoping for even the smallest amount of assistance. Those who are active on social media only visit certain areas. Gaza is a large country with two million residents. We want UNRWA to return and distribute aid fairly. Since their absence, we haven’t received anything at all.”

‘As a mother, I can’t afford to feed six children at these prices. I have no source of income; my husband lost his carpentry workshop. We’re living on whatever aid we can get, and unfortunately, it’s very, very little.’

In addition to aid organizations, many social media activists and influencers are working to provide aid to displaced people living in tents, offering them humanitarian relief, food, and clothing. These activists launch relief campaigns through their social media pages, receiving donations from around the world and attempting to purchase supplies from the market, depending on availability.

They also work with relief committees such as the Egyptian committee that brings in aid convoys from the Kerem Abu Salem crossing after they enter from the Rafah crossing, which is supervised by the Egyptian Red Crescent. These committees, and some influencers, visit displacement camps, but this does not cover all areas due to the limited aid entering the Gaza Strip.

Many in Gaza wonder why their camps in the northern and southern regions do not receive this aid. Some influencers also try to diversify their aid, offering grants for university students and stationery for children in tent schools. However, this is not considered sufficient to relieve Gaza, where the scale of people’s needs requires a much greater amount of aid and an end to the Israeli occupation’s restrictions.

With Ramadan approaching, there is no change to the grim conditions Kurd and other mothers face. “I have a four-year-old child who was severely underweight during the famine and hasn’t recovered since the war ended,” she said. “As a mother, I can’t afford to feed six children at these prices. I have no source of income; my husband lost his carpentry workshop. We’re living on whatever aid we can get, and unfortunately, it’s very, very little.”

‘We haven’t seen any change in the famine. Now, various goods are widespread, most of them Israeli, but at high prices.’

Yesterday, the Israeli army announced it would allow sweets into the Gaza Strip for the month of Ramadan. This confirms that the army controls the quantity and type of goods entering Gaza, exacerbating the suffering of Gaza’s residents.

Khaled Baraka, 55, from Khan Younis, said, “I thought that when the ceasefire ended, life would return to Gaza. We would go back to our areas, sit on the rubble of our homes, and resume our lives as they were. I used to work as a farmer in the eastern part of the city.”

Like Kurd, Baraka says he hasn’t seen any real relief in the famine conditions since the ceasefire, “We haven’t seen any change in the famine. Now, various goods are widespread, most of them Israeli, but at high prices. That’s why we’re forced to buy canned goods, which we’re supposed to receive as aid, not buy.”

A week ago, one of the trucks heading north was stolen by hungry citizens who don’t have money to buy food for their children. The phenomenon of attacking trucks to obtain aid hasn’t disappeared because the harsh conditions haven’t changed, and people in Gaza are trying to get any assistance they can.

A massive fire also broke out last weekend at a Qatari aid center, destroying all the aid and depriving thousands of families of it.

The situation in Gaza is dire, and international aid organizations are largely unable to operate due to the scarcity of aid manufactured by the Israeli occupation.

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