
Why are Gazans not getting sorely needed aid?
Israel says international organisations have failed, and that the previous UN-led system had allowed Hamas militants to loot aid trucks.
On the ground, meanwhile, more than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading.
GHF: few sites, deadly incidents
Israel's chosen aid distributor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began operations on May 26 after a more than two-month total aid blockade.
Now the main channel for distributing food to Gaza's more than two million people, GHF has faced chaos and deadly violence at its few distribution points.
The United Nations and aid groups have refused to work with GHF, saying it was created to serve Israeli military interests.
"They are not a humanitarian organisation... You don't deliver humanitarian aid in areas that have been completely flattened and militarised," said Arwa Damon, founder of INARA, a US-based NGO offering medical and mental health support to children.
She noted the GHF's site locations -- along two military corridors in southern and central Gaza -- rather than being spread out across the territory.
With only four GHG sites and huge crowds trying to reach them, there have been repeated reports of deadly fire near them.
According to UN figures, Israeli forces have killed some 800 Palestinian aid-seekers near GHF sites since late May.
Israel has rejected calls to restore the UN-led system, citing concerns that Hamas looted trucks and resold aid meant to be distributed free of charge.
Aid organisations sidelined
International aid groups say vast quantities of aid are stockpiled outside Gaza but require Israeli military clearance to enter.
Inside Gaza, coordination with the military is also essential, as fighting and air strikes rage on.
Damon accused Israel of preventing aid delivery by refusing to coordinate with NGOs to grant safe passage through combat zones.
"Getting that coordination approved is incredibly challenging," she told AFP.
"Not to mention Israel's lack of willingness to provide humanitarian organisations with a safe route to be able to ensure a secure pickup."
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday it had "thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza –- banned by Israeli authorities from entering since March".
'Encountered death' for flour
Israel screens all goods entering Gaza, but COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, denies limiting the number of humanitarian trucks.
On Thursday it said "around 70 food trucks were unloaded at aid crossings, and over 150 were collected by the UN and international organisations from the Gazan side".
But more than 800 trucks remained uncollected, and Israel's military posted footage online of hundreds of trucks loaded with food aid "sitting idle inside Gaza".
UN agencies and international NGOs reject Israeli claims that they lack the capacity to distribute food.
They note that aid was distributed effectively in the past, including during the last ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that ended in March.
In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, resident Yousef Abu Shehla said this week he had "encountered death" to get his hands on a bag of flour for his family.
"We shall feed our children even if we die," he told AFP.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Is there a genocide in Gaza? Why legal experts are split
Historians will provide their interpretation at some point in the future. But what about legal experts? When it comes to the question of whether a genocide is underway or has been committed by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, nearly all of them have an opinion. They have clashed in opinion pieces published in newspapers and scholarly journal articles. The debate had already been simmering for several months, but with a single sentence, President Emmanuel Macron brought it out into the open in the French public debate. On the evening of May 13, during an interview on broadcaster TF1, journalist Gilles Bouleau abruptly asked the head of state: "Does what is currently happening in Gaza constitute genocide?" Clearly prepared and looking solemn, the president answered without hesitation: "It is not for a political leader to use those terms; that is up to historians, in due time." The president neither endorsed nor condemned the use of the word "genocide." However, by deferring responsibility to historians and the passage of time, he appeared to overlook the fact that several legal proceedings are already underway, both before French courts and before relevant international bodies – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), both based in The Hague, Netherlands. Genocide brought up soon after October 7, 2023 The question of genocide and Gaza is not just a matter for historians to address through archival research. Above all, it is the domain of law experts – prosecutors, investigating judges, and lawyers – who are working directly on complaints, lawsuits, and appeals that have already been filed. For instance, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for investigating cases of torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, requested in May that a probe be opened following a complaint for "complicity in genocide" and "direct incitement to genocide." This complaint had been filed against French-Israeli activists who obstructed the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Only the investigation will determine whether there was complicity, and therefore a genocide, but this process could take several years.

LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
Israel intercepts Gaza-bound ship carrying activists and humanitarian aid
The Israeli military has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Sunday, July 27. The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military "violently intercepted" the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication, just before midnight Saturday. Four French citizens, including two elected officials from the radical left La France Insoumise party, were on board the ship. Two Al-Jazeera journalists were also arrested. The boat had left Italy on July 13, six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, which had also been intercepted earlier by Israeli forces. "All cargo was non-military, civilian and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel's illegal blockade," the group said in a statement. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X early Sunday that the Navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore. It was the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza, where food experts have for months warned of the risk of famine. Activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when it was seized by the Israeli military in June. In May, the coalition's civilian aid ship Conscience sustained a drone attack off Malta that disabled the vessel. The ship's interception comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, with concern growing over rising hunger in the territory amid Israeli restrictions on aid. A regional human rights group, Adalah, said the raid on the vessel violated international law. It demanded the immediate release of the 21 activists, including lawmakers and human rights campaigners, from 10 countries. Adalah said the vessel has arrived at the Israeli port of Ashdod, but that its lawyers have been denied access to the detained activists. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, regarding two Italians on board, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Sa'ar indicated that if they don't agree to leave the country immediately, they would be forcibly repatriated over the next three days, the ministry said. Also on board were seven US citizens, including a human rights attorney, a Jewish US war veteran and a Jewish-American activist, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Earlier, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Israeli navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza. "The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe," it said. Just before midnight local time on Saturday, a video livestream broadcast from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza. The Handala's crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
The devastating ambition of Israel's defense minister
In just a few weeks, Benjamin Netanyahu will reach a cumulative total of 18 years as Israel's prime minister. Thanks to his political maneuvering skills and alliance with supremacists, he hopes to remain prime minister until October 2026, when the current four-year term of the Knesset, Israel's unicameral parliament, will end. Such stability contrasted sharply with the chaotic succession of five snap elections held between April 2019 and November 2022. The politician's remarkable longevity is based on a proven formula for achieving a majority of 61 out of 120 seats in the Knesset. This formula included securing around 30 seats for his party, Likud; maintaining an alliance with two ultra-Orthodox parties that consistently control about 15 seats; and shoring up a parliamentary majority with an additional 15 lawmakers currently drawn from the far-right supremacist bloc. Netanyahu had also always been careful to prevent the rise of any personality who could challenge him from within the Likud. The 'transfer' of Gaza's population Now over 75 years old, he has seen ambitions sharpening within his own party. The most serious contender at this point is Israel Katz, who is six years his junior. Katz owes his career to the prime minister, who since 2009 has entrusted him with the portfolios of transport, intelligence, energy, finance and twice foreign affairs. Netanyahu appointed him as defense minister in November 2024 to replace former general Yoav Gallant, due to his loyalty and tenacity as Israel's foreign minister. While Gallant believed the Israeli army had achieved its military objectives in Gaza months earlier, Katz revived Netanyahu's rhetoric about achieving "total victory" over Hamas. Katz further solidified this hardline stance by establishing a "special agency for the voluntary departure of Gaza's residents" within his ministry. Katz is actively promoting the "transfer" of Gaza's population to distance himself from his mentor, Netanyahu, who is bound by certain rhetorical constraints. Already a vocal advocate for annexing the West Bank, Katz is counting on the popularity of supremacist ideas within the Likud party, given that over 80% of Israeli Jews supported expelling Gaza's residents.