Israel says it’s boosting Gaza aid, but UN says little has changed

In the week since United States President Joe Biden warned Israel to swiftly address civilian suffering in Gaza – or risk future US support – Israeli officials have touted what they say is a record number of aid trucks entering the territory, one of several new measures that the government maintains will help alleviate the crisis.

But according to UN and other aid officials, as well as relief workers inside Gaza, little has actually changed on the ground – and aid access remains as complicated and risky as ever, even as much of the population hurtles toward famine.

Despite Israel’s emphasis on truck numbers – it says more than 1200 trucks have crossed into Gaza over the last three days – the volume of aid hasn’t significantly increased, nor is it reaching those most in need. The government’s most concrete promises of reopening a crossing in northern Gaza, bringing bakeries back online and establishing channels to co-ordinate with aid workers have yet to yield results.

“The proof in the pudding will be when it actually happens beyond words,” Jamie McGoldrick, the interim UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the Palestinian territories, said of the steps Israel pledged to take. “They are under pressure to deliver something.”

Biden’s ultimatum to Israel last week, delivered in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was spurred by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers by Israeli forces earlier this month, a reminder of the perilous environment in which relief agencies operate.

Six months into the conflict, which began when Hamas militants killed around 1200 people in Israel and took 253 others hostage on October 7, the stakes for getting more food, medicine and other relief to Palestinians are those of life and death.

More than 33,500 people have already been killed and over 76,000 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Ninety-five per cent of the population of 2.2 million is estimated to be experiencing crisis levels of hunger, and health authorities say at least 32 people had died of malnutrition or dehydration by early April. In northern Gaza, which the Israeli military has isolated from the rest of the enclave, famine may already be underway, the world’s leading body on food crises has said. –