Is humanitarian aid getting into Gaza? | Oxfam

• Authorities continued to limit the number of trucks and drivers, only permitting certain, very restricted medical, food, and nutrition supplies via a very limited number of humanitarian organizations.
• By May 28th, some 800 trucks containing small quantities of nutritional and medical supplies had been cleared, and just over 500 had been offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom. However, a wide variety of critical humanitarian supplies remain blocked, including fuel, cooking gas, shelter, and hygiene products.
• While around 1,100 truckloads reached the Israeli side of the crossing between May 31st and June 2nd, humanitarian organizations were only able to collect around 400 for onward distribution, according to a June 5th report from the UN.
• Once inside Gaza, the movement of humanitarian workers and the aid they are delivering is severely restricted by the Israeli authorities–either prohibited outright or limited to routes that are unsafe and vulnerable.

More than four months have passed since anything more than a paltry amount of fuel was allowed into Gaza. That means virtually no fuel to cook food; to run ambulances, water trucks, or the generators needed to supply power for hospitals; and to power water wells and desalination plants. 

For weeks, Israeli authorities also denied humanitarian workers the permission to collect fuel stored in a UN warehouse inside Gaza. An alternative food distribution scheme promoted by the Israeli government has also exacerbated displacement and placed civilians at extreme risk, while making no attempt to address needs across any sectors beyond food.

What is Oxfam doing to help aid get to Gaza?

Oxfam and other agencies are doing what they can, through partners, to deliver life-saving aid. Israel’s military operations and siege make any international humanitarian response of the scale required now impossible across Gaza. Prior to the aid blockade, Oxfam worked closely with our partners in Gaza to reach more than 1.3 million people with humanitarian assistance.

Despite working under unimaginable conditions, Oxfam staff and partners are still able to provide urgent and essential support to Palestinians in Gaza.

Despite Israel’s 18-week near-total siege, and amid 92 weeks of severe deprivation, mass displacement and bombardment, Oxfam and partners are delivering:

• Clean water to over 60,000 displaced people in makeshift camps
• Repairs for water and sanitation facilities reaching 40,000 people
• Essential water and sanitation services, including solid waste collection
• Mental health and psychosocial support, including case management to over 1,000 people
• Support for more than 200 farmers, including agricultural supplies and rehabilitation

A permanent ceasefire is the most important humanitarian intervention that Gaza needs now. The international community must increase pressure on Israel to release its stranglehold on aid delivery, which is starving the population and making access to clean water and sanitation impossible.

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