As Israel’s ground offensive on the Gaza Strip looms and the army continues to order Palestinians to move south, an Israeli security official said there is currently no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip – despite international calls to the contrary.

“As of now, I can tell you that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There is no shortage of water, there is enough food for the next few weeks and in terms of drug supplies, as far as we know, there is no shortage in hospitals“, the Israeli official said according to the Times of Israel.

He even went on to say that there are difficulties in moving people within a few days to the south of the Gaza Strip, but “the population is doing well».

According to the Israel Defense Forces, about 700,000 people out of northern Gaza’s estimated population of 1.1 million have been evacuated south in recent days.

In the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas and after Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza that left the enclave’s 2.4 million residents – half of them children and teenagers – without water, electricity and fuel.

Today, the Rafah crossing was opened by Egypt for two hoursallowing them to pass 20 trucks with humanitarian aid – food and medicine but no fuel – in the long-suffering blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Israel has emphasized that it will ensure that this aid does not reach Hamas, but only to “civilians” and indeed “in the southern part of the Gaza Strip”, as it has requested the evacuation of the northern part.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip issued a statement stressing that the exclusion of fuel from humanitarian aid reaching Gaza will endanger the lives of those treated in hospitals in the region.

“We appeal to the international community and Egypt to cooperate immediately to supply fuel and first aid supplies, before more victims are lost in hospitals,” the statement said.