The United Nations has claimed that no aid has yet been distributed to civilians in Gaza following an 11-week blockade. On Tuesday, lorries crossed the border, with Israeli officials saying 93 trucks had entered Gaza carrying aid, including pharmaceutical drugs, baby food and medical supplies.
However the UN said on Wednesday that despite trucks reaching the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, no aid has been distributed so far.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a team “waited several hours” for Israel to allow them to access the area but “unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse”.
It came after Israel agreed on Sunday to allow a “basic amount of food” to enter Gaza, as global experts warned of a possible famine. The UN said the decision to allow a handful of trucks to cross the border was a “drop in the ocean”.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that pressure from international “allies” was the motivation for the move. He declared that Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had said there is “‘one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you’.
“Therefore, to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem,” Netanyahu said, stressing the aim of the intensified offensive is for Israel’s forces to “take control of all” of Gaza.
Earlier this month, the UN warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, in the midst of Israel’s near-total blockade on the delivery of aid.
The UN said Israeli authorities were attempting to impose a new aid distribution system that would funnel humanitarian supplies through military-controlled hubs, rather than allowing UN agencies and NGOs to operate independently.
The UN claimed such a proposal would leave “large parts of Gaza, including the less mobile and most vulnerable people,” without aid and would force civilians to enter militarised areas to access basic necessities.
“This is dangerous, driving civilians into militarised zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers,” the UN said.
Meanwhile, Israel has defended the decision as a security measure, with some members of the coalition government including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling it a “grave mistake”.
The charity Oxfam accused Israel of “blocking all but a handful of trucks” of aid into Gaza, with Wassem Mushtaha, Oxfam’s Gaza Response Lead, stating:
“While some aid was allowed into Gaza today, it will only be a trickle among a sea of need. For over 70 days Israel has been starving the people of Gaza, depriving them of food, water, medicine and essential supplies while escalating its cruel and indiscriminate bombing campaign.
“Two million people are on the brink of famine, and they are not just starving, but also traumatized, sick and displaced from their homes.
“The limited entry of aid into Gaza cannot be mistaken for meaningful progress, especially alongside the expansion of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign across the Gaza Strip. It is not a turning point, but at best a narrow concession that seems to reflect mounting international pressure.”
This afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended while a review is being conducted. Mr Martin made the comments after the European Union agreed to review the agreement.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Martin said he “strongly” welcomed the decision to review the agreement, which Ireland with Spain had initially called for.
“I actually believe the agreement should now be suspended pending the review,” he said. He described the scenes in Gaza as “absolutely appalling and barbaric.”
The Taoiseach added that “we need to say consistently also that the hostages need to be released.” There are 58 hostages still in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are thought to be alive.
“It is also absolutely unacceptable that innocent people were abducted and remain hostages so long,” Mr Martin said.
“Hamas need to, in my view, stop the war, disband because they’ve caused nothing but misery to their own people. The Israeli government needs to stop what is happening right now.”