Israel again allows some supplies to be sent to Gaza. But there are huge delays and the amount of goods passing by the controls is minimal. After eleven weeks of pressure, the Israeli government finally turned back: this week trucks carrying humanitarian aid were able to enter the Gaza Strip, where people are in the lane.

Between May 20 and 22, they passed through the passage of Kerem Salom 198 trucks, transporting, among other things, flour, baby food, medical equipment and medicines.

Critics, of course, point out that these humanitarian supplies are only one “drop in the ocean”. During the ceasefire earlier this year, which was broken by Israel, up to 600 trucks were passed to the Gaza Strip daily with supplies for the approximately 2 million people in the area.

As Martin Frick, head of the UN World Food (WFP) service in Germany, told DW, the new supplies “is a ray of hope, but again they are minimal for the needs of people. It takes hundreds of trucks every day – and many are waiting for the border ready. “

Delays in control procedures

The WFP has 116,000 tonnes of food in various passes in Egypt, Jordan and Israel – they would arrive to meet the needs of one million people for about four months. According to UN services, there are almost 3,000 humanitarian trucks with humanitarian aid trucks.

However, the movement at distribution points is very slow. In Kerem Salom, the only pass to Gaza that is currently open, all supplies must be loaded on other trucks and then transferred to a checkpoint, waiting for the “green light” from the Israeli army – which can be revoked at any time.

Who distributes supplies?

The UN Relief and Works Service for Palestinian refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is responsible for emergency shelters, and has filled 3,000 humanitarian aid trucks.

The WFP on the other hand supplies flour, organizes supply missions and operates 25 bakeries, but closed in late March due to lack of food – now some of them are gradually starting their operation again. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) contribute to the supplies of meals, vaccines, surgical tools and equipment.

Humanities, food supplies and population care are also contributing to dozens of international NGOs, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other state organizations in the region.

Israel blames Hamas

In order to justify the blockage it has imposed on March 2, Israel blames Hamas, the paramilitary Islamist group that rules Gaza and is characterized by many states as a terrorist organization of stealing supplies. The only reason Israel allowed limited supplies to the Gaza Strip was international pressure – and this will be “temporarily” until the new distribution centers begin to operate normally.

The latter will be built by Israel in collaboration with private US companies. It is a venture that the UN is strongly criticized, noting that the organization already has effective distribution networks, as well as the necessary experience and know -how.

While Israel and the UN disagree with who will take over the management of distribution, delays are growing due to other problems. Even the missions that come to Gaza have problems with the fact that bombs are falling, looting and crossing damaged roads. In addition, there are issues of distribution and storage of supplies and due to lack of gasoline – so it is often impossible to access places where supplies are stored in Gaza.

Impossible supplies by sea

At the same time, the “Amalthea” operation to provide emergency assistance from Cyprus to Gaza by sea did not prove to be a reliable way for supplies. Although more than 100 tonnes of food were delivered in March 2024 through a temporary port to the north of Gaza, businesses stopped after an Israeli attack in April last year, killing seven volunteers in the world central cuisine.

Similar efforts by the US and various NGOs have also failed. No more supply shipment is executed by sea.

Larus danger in the coming weeks

Even before Israel’s “bloc” in humanitarian supplies, more than two -thirds of the Gaza population depended on international aid. The last eleven weeks, however, have further exacerbated the already tragic situation: according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), from early April until May 10, 93% (1.95 million people) were in crisis. Of these, 44% (925,000 people) are in a “emergency” state, while 12.4% (244,000 people) are in the “destruction/ starvation” phase.

“From May 11 until the end of September 2025 the entire Gaza population is expected to be in a state of crisis or even worse” in terms of food supply, “FAO writes on its website, further explaining that there is an area in a state when one in five in the five in a staircase.

Gaza needs about 1,300 tonnes of food on a daily basis to meet the needs of the 2.2 million people there. The average supply truck has a capacity of about 25 tonnes – so they need 50 to 60 trucks daily only to transport food. Since fuels, medicines, hygiene, and even water should also be imported, UN organizations estimate that they need a total of at least 500 trucks daily.

In other words, if supplies continue at the present rate, in the coming weeks the population in Gaza is threatened with starvation.

Curated by: George Passas