Over the weekend, two significant shipments of humanitarian aid reached the besieged enclave of Gaza, marking the first such assistance since Israel initiated airstrikes.
Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, had been grappling with a dire need for humanitarian relief after Israel’s blockade, which included cut-offs of essential supplies such as food, fuel, and electricity that have taken a toll on the lives of over 4,600 Palestinians, with children comprising more than a third of the casualties.
Countries Extending Aid to Gaza:
Pakistan, as confirmed by the Foreign Office spokesperson, dispatched aid in the form of medicines and tents for Gaza’s residents. A chartered aircraft, carrying 100 tons of vital medical supplies, tents, and blankets, departed from Islamabad to Egypt. Several other nations have joined the effort. At least eight planes carrying aid from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Tunisia have landed at El Arish International Airport in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Additionally, India has sent medical and disaster relief to El Arish on Sunday. Rwanda has also joined the effort and sent 16 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Meanwhile, The European Union is launching an air bridge and has tripled its assistance to the territory.
Enhanced Response and Urgent Needs:
A convoy of 20 trucks made the crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday, with a second convoy arriving the following day. Over 200 trucks, loaded with approximately 3,000 tones of aid, are currently positioned on the Egyptian side, awaiting Israeli approval for entry into Gaza. Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF’s representative in Egypt, emphasized that the current aid volumes are insufficient to meet the needs of Gaza’s population, stressing the necessity of having “at least 100 to 200 trucks entering daily.” The crisis has displaced more than a million people, leaving tens of thousands wounded and in urgent need of medical care, alongside those requiring food and essential provisions.
Nature of Aid:
The aid convoys have carried medical supplies from the World Health Organization (WHO), including dressings, anesthetics, and painkillers. Essential food items such as canned tuna, tomato paste, and wheat flour have been transported in the trucks. The convoys also included bottled drinking water, with the first convoy providing enough for 27,000 people for one day, and the second for 22,000 people for a day.
Is the Aid sufficient?
The United Nations’ humanitarian office has emphasized that the volume of aid entering Gaza so far accounts for only 4 percent of the daily requirements prior to the hostilities, and it falls significantly short of the current needs as food, water, medicines, and fuel stocks dwindle. It’s crucial to note that the aid delivered to Gaza does not encompass fuel, which is an urgent requirement as indicated by aid groups. Doctors at Gaza’s sole cancer hospital have issued a warning regarding critically low fuel supplies, raising the possibility of a forced shutdown.
Border Status:
The aid entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which was opened to allow this limited aid to reach Gaza. Any supplies coming into Gaza via the Rafah crossing necessitate Israeli approval. Israel has committed to not obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza through Egypt, in response to international pressure to ease its 10-day blockade on the Palestinian territory. Trucks remain queued at the border, prepared to enter Gaza as soon as the border opens once again. Jeremy Hopkins has underscored the need for the border to remain open on a continuous basis to address the escalating crisis.
