Jerusalem– Aid trucks have finally begun crossing into Gaza after an 11-week blockade, but United Nations officials say not a single delivery has reached civilians.
Ninety-three lorries carrying food, medicine and baby formula entered Gaza on Tuesday through the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to Israeli authorities. Yet UN teams on the ground say the goods are stuck, undelivered, as bureaucratic and logistical hurdles prevent the supplies from moving further.
“Our colleagues waited for several hours for access to the area,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York. “Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse.”
The situation remains critical. Gaza is teetering on the edge of famine, aid agencies warn, and time is running out for thousands of malnourished children.
“It’s a drop in the ocean of what’s needed,” Dujarric added.
Thousands of Babies at Risk
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, offered a stark warning during an interview with the BBC. “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them,” he said.
That claim raised eyebrows, prompting calls for clarity. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs later clarified that around 14,000 children under five in Gaza are suffering from severe acute malnutrition a figure based on a forecast from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). However, the risk is spread across a 12-month period, not two days.
“There are babies in urgent, life-saving need,” said Jens Laerke, another UN spokesperson. “If they don’t get help soon, they will die.”
Mounting International Pressure
The aid bottleneck comes as global pressure mounts on Israel over its continued military operations in Gaza. On Monday, the UK, France, and Canada jointly called on Israel to halt its offensive and allow full humanitarian access.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the situation “morally unjustifiable” and “intolerable,” announcing a freeze on trade talks with Israel. The European Union is also reviewing its trade ties, with foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying the bloc is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s conduct.
The UK also announced sanctions against several Israeli settlers and groups linked to violence in the West Bank a move that signals growing disapproval even among traditional allies.
US Signals Support but Notes Limits
In Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Israel’s decision to allow some aid in. “We are pleased to see that aid is starting to flow again,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
When pressed by a Democratic senator on the limited number of trucks, Rubio conceded the delivery was insufficient but described the move as a “step in the right direction.”
Ongoing Conflict and Civilian Toll
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began after Hamas launched a deadly cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.
Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims at least 53,475 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and ground operations a figure that includes 3,340 deaths since the latest round of fighting resumed.
Overnight airstrikes on Wednesday reportedly killed 15 people, including a child, according to Gaza’s civil defence service.
The continued fighting has crippled aid distribution networks and paralysed health services. In recent weeks, Gaza’s health ministry said 57 children have died due to malnutrition. Those numbers, though impossible to verify independently, underscore the dire conditions for the territory’s most vulnerable.
“We Just Need the Green Light”
Aid workers say the challenge now is not what’s in the trucks, but what stands in their way.
Under Israel’s current arrangement, aid must be unloaded at the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing and reloaded again a slow, complex process. UN teams also need Israeli permission to access storage areas and distribute supplies safely.
“The goods are there,” said one aid worker, speaking anonymously from southern Gaza. “We just need the green light to move them.”
For the families waiting, it’s a cruel delay. The trucks have arrived, but the help has not.
