Israel still blocking most Gaza aid as military carries out more attacks

Authorities in Gaza say that Israel has only allowed a fraction of the humanitarian aid deliveries agreed on as part of the United States-brokered ceasefire into the enclave since the agreement came into effect last month.

In a statement on Saturday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that 3,203 commercial and aid trucks brought supplies into Gaza between October 10 and 31. This is an average of 145 aid trucks per day, or just 24 percent of the 600 trucks that are meant to be entering Gaza daily as part of the deal, it added.
“We strongly condemn the Israeli occupation’s obstruction of aid and commercial trucks and hold it fully responsible for the worsening and deteriorating humanitarian situation faced by more than 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip,” the office said in a statement.

It also called on US President Donald Trump and other ceasefire deal mediators to put pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza “without restrictions and conditions”.
While aid deliveries have increased since the truce came into force, Palestinians across Gaza continue to face shortages of food, water, medicine and other critical supplies as a result of Israeli restrictions.

Many families also lack adequate shelter as their homes and neighbourhoods have been completely destroyed in Israel’s two-year military bombardment.

A spokesperson for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the UN’s humanitarian office reported that aid collection has been “limited” due to the “rerouting ordered by the Israeli authorities”.