Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis: A Dire Situation Exacerbated by Israel's Blockade

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis, with Israel's military blockade severely restricting the flow of essential aid and resources into the region. According to data compiled by more than a dozen humanitarian groups, over 80% of food deliveries are being blocked from entering the territory, leaving the entire population of 2.2 million people facing the dire consequences of hunger and disease.

Starving Amid the Rubble: The Devastating Impact of Israel's Siege on Gaza

Crippling the Flow of Aid

Alongside the relentless bombing that has devastated entire neighborhoods and caused immense suffering, Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid is a major contributor to Gaza's worsening crisis. The enclave is facing a severe shortage of essential supplies, including food, water, medicine, and fuel, with aid groups struggling to deliver even the most basic necessities to the population.In August 2024, Gaza received a record-low average of just 69 aid trucks per day, a drastic decline from the 500 trucks per working day that were delivered in August 2023. This sharp reduction in aid has had a devastating impact, with half the population in the southern and central regions of Gaza not receiving any food rations at all.

Malnutrition and Starvation: The Grim Realities of Life in Gaza

The consequences of the aid blockade are dire, with an estimated 50,000 Palestinian children aged 6 months to 4 years in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition. Doctors have warned that children are the hardest hit by the ongoing starvation, with many facing stunted growth and other long-term health issues."What I can tell you is that even in the south, where extremely limited amounts of humanitarian aid is entering, people are wildly malnourished," said Dr. Tammy Abughnaim, an American emergency physician who recently volunteered in Gaza. "Starving people cannot recover from traumatic injuries. Starving children will have their growth stunted for years. Starving mothers cannot breastfeed their children. All of that is a direct result of Israel's blockade and siege of the Gaza Strip."

Navigating the Deadly Obstacle Course: The Challenges Faced by Aid Workers

The situation for humanitarian workers in Gaza is equally dire, as they risk their lives daily to deliver aid to the population. Mahmoud Alsaqqa, a Gaza aid worker with Oxfam International, described the challenges they face, including shortages of cooking gas and fuel that disrupt the operation of bakeries, community kitchens, and the transportation of aid and teams."And also, the situation changes every day. The crossing is open one day, it's closed the next. And even items are allowed to enter in on one day, it's not allowed in the day after," Alsaqqa said. "Once inside Gaza, the aid workers are facing a deadly obstacle course in order to get goods to their intended destination. They risk their lives every day."

Weaponizing Humanitarian Aid: The Accusation of Genocide

The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has accused Israel of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as a means to exterminate the population and annex the land. Fakhri's report argues that the "most well-recognized starvation act" is the weaponization of humanitarian aid, either by blocking said aid or by leveraging it for political negotiations related to the impacted population."By destroying and poisoning agricultural land, decimating ports and fishing vessels, Israel has destroyed approximately 93 per cent of the economy of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector," Fakhri wrote in the report, joining the growing number of voices in the international community calling Israel's actions genocidal.The aid groups have stressed that member states of the United Nations must demand that Israel end all aid obstruction and immediately implement a permanent ceasefire to address the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.