Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza
Gaza, Aug 1: International pressure over distressing images of starving children and mounting hunger-related deaths has forced Israel to ease some restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza. But aid agencies and Palestinians warn the changes remain superficial, with famine fears continuing to escalate in the war-battered enclave.
While Israel briefly paused fighting in parts of Gaza this week and permitted increased aid deliveries and airdrops, the impact has been minimal. Aid trucks entering Gaza are often looted by desperate crowds—both unarmed civilians and armed gangs—long before supplies can reach UN warehouses.
“We’re still facing deep levels of hunger, and people are offloading our convoys directly out of desperation,” said Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). She added that only a sustained and predictable flow of aid can rebuild trust among the population.
CCTV footage and eyewitnesses have captured scenes of chaos and danger. In many cases, Israeli troops have opened fire on crowds around aid convoys. Hospitals report hundreds killed or injured in such incidents. Israel claims it only fires warning shots or acts in self-defense.
Meanwhile, international aid airdrops have resumed, but agencies say they are symbolic at best. Many of the parcels fall into inaccessible or evacuated zones, and some even land in the sea, forcing desperate civilians to swim after sodden bags of flour and biscuits.
Since late May, Israel has increased the daily number of aid trucks, with official figures stating that 220–270 truckloads were allowed in on some days this week. However, the UN says this is still far below the 500–600 trucks needed daily to address the crisis. Much of the aid remains piled near border entry points, stranded due to Israeli military restrictions or lawlessness within Gaza.
The World Food Programme's Gaza director Antoine Renard noted that it recently took 12 hours to move just 52 trucks over a 10-kilometre stretch due to bottlenecks and approval delays.
"This is a worst-case scenario of famine, and current efforts are simply not enough to reverse it,” he warned.
Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi dismissed the latest Israeli measures as “theatrics” and “token gestures.” She said airdropping energy bars or allowing limited convoys won’t undo the “irreversible harm done to an entire generation.”
On the ground, truck drivers face escalating violence. Some have reported being threatened, robbed, and beaten by armed looters. "If people weren't starving, they wouldn't resort to this," said driver Ali al-Derbashi, who was attacked and had his truck stripped.
Israel has offered UN convoys armed escorts, but the UN has declined, citing neutrality concerns and previous shootings during such arrangements.
With no clarity on how long the temporary measures will last, panic is growing. “It’s survival of the fittest,” said Gaza analyst Muhammad Shehada. “It’s a Darwin dystopia.”
Displaced civilians like Rida, waiting for aid, said the situation has robbed them of their dignity. “This is humiliating,” she said.
Another man, Momen Abu Etayya, nearly drowned retrieving biscuit packets from the sea after an airdrop—driven by his child’s plea for food. “I threw myself into the ocean to death just to bring him something,” he said.
As famine looms and hope fades, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis remains far from resolved.