Relief groups have warned that more than one million people in Gaza will not have enough food this month, as trucks loaded with aid remain stuck at Israeli checkpoints. Medical supplies, toothbrushes, and shampoo are among the items held up in a backlog of lorries unable to enter from Egypt, according to humanitarian organisations.
Sam Rose, a senior deputy director of the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), said: “We estimate that over a million Gazans will go without food in September. Over half the medicines in our health centres are running low, as is chlorine for water purification and other basic supplies.” He added that UNRWA had resorted to importing single items such as soap because kits containing multiple items were blocked.
The amount of aid entering Gaza is at its lowest since Israel took control of the Rafah crossing in May. UN data shows an average of 100 lorries entered daily in July, halving in August, with only 147 trucks so far in September. Amed Khan, founder of the Elpida relief organisation, described the situation as “the absolute minimum needed to ensure that people don’t die immediately from starvation”.
Humanitarian workers attribute the low numbers to Israeli screening processes and differences in truck sizes. The backlog has left thousands of trucks stuck in Egypt, incurring millions of dollars in demurrage charges each month. Inside Gaza, distribution is hampered by a lack of fuel, military roads, and checkpoints, with 280 humanitarian workers killed in 11 months of fighting.
A report by over two dozen NGOs, including Mercy Corps and Oxfam, highlighted delays imposed by Israeli authorities in approving cargo. It noted that only three convoys of 30 trucks are permitted weekly through Gate 96 near Gaza City, with often just 15 trucks allowed access. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that 4,000 packages of soap and toothbrushes have been blocked for three months.
