'Beyond catastrophic' situation as Israel blocks 83% of Gaza-bound food aid: Analysis

A new analysis has found that Israel's complete siege of the Gaza Strip is blocking the overwhelming majority of food assistance to the Palestinian territory, which is grappling with a humanitarian disaster caused by a genocidal war.

The analysis by 15 international aid organizations, which was published on Monday, said that a record-low average of 69 aid trucks per day entered Gaza in August 2024, compared with an already insufficient 500 per working day last year.

“83% of required food aid does not make it into Gaza, up from 34% in 2023,” the aid groups—which include CARE International, Save the Children, ActionAid, Oxfam, and Islamic Relief—said in a statement.

“This reduction means people in Gaza have gone from having an average of two meals a day to just one meal every other day.”

The groups also estimated that 50,000 Gaza children aged 6-59 months urgently require treatment for malnutrition by the end of the year.

They further highlighted ways that life-saving aid is “systematically obstructed” on a daily basis in Gaza, including the denial of safety to aid workers and the sharp tightening of a 17-year blockade to a full siege.

"The situation was intolerable long before last October’s escalation and is beyond catastrophic now. Over 11 months, we have reached shocking levels of conflict, displacement, disease and hunger,” said Jolien Veldwijik, CARE Country Director in the West Bank and Gaza.

“Yet, aid is still not getting in, and humanitarian workers are risking their lives to do their jobs while attacks and violations of international law intensify.”

Meanwhile, Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, an umbrella organization of 30 Palestinian NGOs and a partner of ActionAid, said people are starving due to the shortage of aid in Gaza.

"There is a shortage of all humanitarian items. We are overwhelmed [with] these needs and [these] urgent requirements... It's the worst situation that we [witnessed] during ... the Israel war in Gaza,” he added.

Israel using ‘starvation campaign’ in Gaza: UN expert

A UN expert says Israel is carrying out a “starvation campaign” against Palestinians during its war on Gaza.

The authors of the analysis—which was released ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York—demanded that Israel secure an immediate, lasting ceasefire in Gaza and end its blockade on the Palestinian territory.

Israel waged its brutal Gaza offensive on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the occupying regime has killed at least 41,226 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza and injured 95,413 others. 

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