During the Gaza war, humanitarian aid entered into the Gaza Strip via air, land and sea. Early in the war, significant issues arose with humanitarian aid. Israel's initial blockade on Gaza, immediately following the 7 October attacks, prevented the entry of humanitarian aid for several weeks. As the war progressed, aid was allowed at limited quantities. Entities such as Oxfam, the European Union, United Kingdom, and United Nations stated that Israel is deliberately blocking humanitarian aid. These limitations have contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis and a risk of famine. Israeli airstrikes and continued restrictions on aid entry led to widespread shortages of food and supplies. Distribution of aid within Gaza has also been an issue. Thousands of truckloads of aid piled up as armed men stop convoys, threaten drivers, and rifle through the cargo. Lawlessness was reported by PBS to be a major obstacle to aid distribution to southern and central Gaza. Gaza's police have refused to protect aid convoy after airstrikes killed eight police officers in Rafah.
Humanitarian aid agencies warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of aid restrictions, particularly after major Western donors announced they would cease funding UNRWA, the major aid relief agency in Gaza, and Israel passed legislation to ban UNRWA from working in or with the State of Israel.
In January 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed then-First Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands Sigrid Kaag as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza. By May 2024, the UN World Food Programme warned that humanitarian operations were "near collapse". In June 2024, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, stated the majority of people in Gaza were "fully dependent" on humanitarian aid. In October 2024, the United Nations found that Israel had arbitrarily blocked 83% of aid entering Gaza in the prior year. According to UNICEF, more aid workers had been killed in Gaza by summer 2024 than in any war since the founding of the United Nations, with at least 278 killed.
Background Israeli imposed closure on the movement of goods and people to and from Gaza dates back to 1991. This policy was initially temporary, but eventually developed into a permanent administrative measure in March 1993. Since then, the closure has varied in intensity, but has never been completely lifted. In 1994, Israel built the Gaza–Israel barrier as a security measure. Since then, there are four border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip through the barrier: the Kerem Shalom, Karni, Erez, and Sufa crossings. All goods bound for Gaza as well as exports passing through Israel must use one of these crossings, and undergo security inspection before being permitted to enter or leave Gaza. After the 2005 withdraw of Israeli settlers from Gaza, all trade was ceased and the entrance of goods was limited to a "humanitarian minimum", allowing only those goods which are "essential to the survival of the civilian population". According to Palestinian analyst Elhasan Bakr, the prewar amount of aid trucks into Gaza was 500-600 a day, with estimates of 1,000-1,500 trucks needed to alleviate starvation.
2023 October block on aid
On 9 October, Israel implemented a complete blockade on Gaza, preventing the entry of any humanitarian aid. Egypt closed its border to prevent civilians fleeing, but said that it would allow aid to be delivered through the Rafah crossing. A week later, despite international calls for deliveries, hundreds of tons of aid were stuck on Egypt's side of the border, as Israel bombarded the crossing amid fears of weapons deliveries, and declined to assure Egyptian authorities it would pause airstrikes for civilian aid convoys. In Israel, aid to Gaza was reportedly prevented by far-right politicians allied with Netanyahu. On 17 October, the UNRWA stated that there was currently "no water or electricity in Gaza. Soon there will be no food or medicine either".
Blockade and resumption of deliveries after October 2023 A total blockade of the Gaza Strip was announced on 9 October 2023 by the Defence Minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant. "We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it's all closed" he announced.
Deliveries to southern Gaza On 18 October, Israel announced it would allow food, water, and medicine to be delivered to a "safe zone" in the west Khan Younis in southern Gaza, distributed by the United Nations. Later the same day, US president Joe Biden announced Egypt agreed to allow 20 trucks with aid to enter Gaza by 20 October. More than 100 trucks of aid were waiting at the Rafah crossing to enter into Gaza. In a statement, Human Rights Watch stated that without electricity or fuel, however, the provided aid would fail "meeting the needs of Gaza's population". On 19 October, US Special Envoy David M. Satterfield stated the US wanted "sustained" aid into Gaza. The same day, a spokesman for Oxfam stated aid distribution in Gaza would be a "big challenge", and the UN reported at least 100 trucks a day of aid were needed. On 21 October 20 trucks of aid entered Gaza. António Guterres stated it was not enough to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe". Martin Griffiths said the UN was working to develop an "at-scale operation". On 22 October, following the second delivery of trucks, Biden and Netanyahu stated aid would continue to be allowed into Gaza.
Delivery during temporary ceasefire The amount of aid entering Gaza increased during the temporary November ceasefire. On 26 November, the largest shipment of humanitarian aid reached northern Gaza since the start of the conflict nearly two months before. Philippe Lazzarini stated the aid entering Gaza was still inadequate. Samer AbdelJaber, a World Food Programme head, stated people were hungry and desperate. On 28 November, the White House reported that over 2,000 trucks of aid had entered Gaza since 21 October.
Resumption of hostilities after November 2023 ceasefire
December 2023
Following the resumption of hostilities on 1 December, aid deliveries into Gaza ceased. The IDF informed the Palestinian Red Crescent that the entry of trucks was "prohibited, starting from today" until further notice. Later the same day, the United States announced they had requested a reversal of the decision, and Israel stated it was prepared to allow aid at pre-pause levels. On 4 December, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that approximately 100 humanitarian aid trucks and 69,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza on 3 and 4 December. This was "well below" the on average 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that were delivered daily during the temporary ceasefire. On 4 December, Lynn Hastings, a UN humanitarian coordinator, stated, "The conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist" and warned of a "hellish scenario" in which aid delivery was entirely impossible. Josep Borrell shared a warning on social media from Martin Griffiths stating an immediate ceasefire was needed for the UN to continue humanitarian operations. WHO stated Israel shot at its humanitarian relief trucks in Gaza City.
On 15 December, Israel approved the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing and announced that the US would be paying to upgrade the Rafah crossing. Following a tour of the Rafah crossing, MEP Barry Andrews stated he believed Israel was deliberately delaying aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. On 19 December, UNRWA headquarters was bombed. UN chief Antonio Guterres stated the way Israel was conducting its offensive was creating obstacles for delivery. On 29 December, Israel fired on a humanitarian aid truck marked with U.N. insignia. Israel announced on 31 December it was prepared to allow aid ships from Cyprus to enter Gaza.
January 2024 France and Jordan airdropped aid on 5 January. On 11 January, Samer AbdelJaber, a World Food Programme director, stated the organization had delivered "crucial food assistance to thousands of people facing catastrophic hunger" in Gaza City for the first time in weeks.
On 13 January 2024, UNOCHA reported the amount of aid Israel was allowing into Gaza had significantly decreased since the prior month. Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch's Israel-Palestine director, stated, "This is a deliberate Israeli government policy. Aid is not reaching north Gaza." US senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley criticized Israel's inspection of humanitarian aid as "arbitrary" and "broken". A joint statement by the heads of UNICEF, WHO, and the World Food Programme stated the limited quantity of aid arriving in Gaza was unable to prevent the "deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition, and disease". A viral video showed huge crowds of hungry people rushing toward a rumored relief truck. On 16 January, a deal was reached between Israel and Hamas to bring more aid into Gaza. On 19 January, UNOCHA reported that nearly 70% of its aid deliveries to northern Gaza had been denied by Israel. On 29 January, the United Nations reported that Israel had denied 29 aid missions to northern Gaza.
In late January, at least 15 countries announced they were suspending funding for UNRWA. Philippe Lazarrini, the agency chief, stated, "Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing." The regional director of Doctors Without Borders stated, "If you stop these trucks, people will die of hunger and very quickly". UNRWA warned that without continued funding, it would be forced to cease operations by the end of February 2024.
February 2024
On 11 February 2024, the UNRWA head said a month's worth of food supply was being blocked at Israel's Ashdod port. UNOCHA reported that only six of the 24 planned United Nations aid missions to northern Gaza had been completed in the month of February.
The World Food Programme announced on 20 February they were ceasing aid deliveries to northern Gaza, stating, "Gaza is hanging by a thread and WFP must be enabled to reverse the path towards famine for thousands of desperately hungry people". WFP stated their last aid mission had been surrounded by "crowds of hungry people". On 20 February, at least one Palestinian civilian was killed while waiting to receive humanitarian aid.
In a 21 February article CNN reported that according to documentation examined by both the UN and CNN, a UN humanitarian convoy carrying food supplies was fired upon by the IDF before being blocked from entering northern Gaza on 5 February. The convoy's path had been agreed upon by the IDF and the UN, and the convoy had been stopped at an IDF holding point for over an hour when it was fired upon, causing much of its contents which included wheat flour to be destroyed. The UN blamed "Israeli naval gunfire", while CNN identified three Israeli missile ships nearby that could have shot at the convoy.
Britain and Jordan air dropped medicine and other aid to Tal al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza. Humanitarian organizations warned that a Rafah offensive could lead to the end of even limited aid entering Gaza. On 22 February, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini stated the organization had reached its "breaking point", with continued humanitarian services now "seriously threatened". Satellite imagery showed more than 1,000 aid trucks on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to cross into Gaza. By late-February, only four trucks were entering per day, compared to 133 at the start of the month. On 23 February, UNRWA said it was no longer operational in northern Gaza, where civil order had collapsed due to Israel's bombardment and restriction on food. UNRWA stated aid hadn't reached northern Gaza in a month.