Enhancing food conditions in Gaza: Insights from a humanitarian specialist

Crisis Deepens in Gaza as Humanitarian Aid Remains Inaccessible

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, with innocent civilians facing daily targeted attacks and starvation. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reports that their staff are themselves struggling to find food, mirroring the plight of ordinary Palestinians in the region.

According to the United Nations World Food Program, one in three people in Gaza cannot eat for days at a time. This alarming statistic is a direct result of the Israeli-imposed near-total blockade and militarized aid distribution system, which severely restricts and controls life-saving supplies.

Shaina Low, communications adviser for the NRC, describes the conditions in Gaza as indescribable, with her colleagues going hungry and starving. Aid distribution is hindered by ongoing bombardments, Israeli access denials, and insecurity on the roads. The NRC staff are facing insecurity, hunger, and desperation, with some facilities placed under displacement orders by the Israeli military.

The NRC is still providing clean drinking water to thousands of people across Gaza, but has had to reduce the number of sites due to ongoing displacement orders and instability. Thousands of truckloads of aid, including food, medical supplies, fuel, and shelter materials, are waiting to enter Gaza, but Israel has for the most part closed the crossings throughout the last 21 months, especially since March 2 of this year.

The current evidence shows that Israel's militarized "aid" distribution system is heavily criticized for its deadly consequences. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed near or on the routes to these distribution sites since May 2025, particularly around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites, which are backed by US and Israeli interests and sidestep traditional humanitarian agencies.

More than a hundred international humanitarian groups, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, have signed a statement calling for Israel to end its blockade of Gaza. They argue that the blockade and restricted crossings have created a near-total aid blockade that prevents adequate food, medical supplies, and essential services from entering Gaza.

The collapse of 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure, including electricity, water, sanitation, and healthcare, exacerbates the humanitarian crisis and heightens the risk of famine and disease. Medical facilities are overwhelmed, and malnutrition-related complications are rising rapidly. Addressing the crisis effectively requires opening borders and crossings for sustained, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian aid deliveries through established UN and international channels rather than militarized or politicized systems.

Israel has stated that the U.N. has failed to distribute 950 truckloads of aid that are parked in a fenced-off area near the Kerem Shalom crossing point in the Gaza Strip. However, Shaina Low did not provide any information regarding this specific claim.

In summary, the crisis stems mainly from the Israeli blockade and militarized aid scheme, airdrops and militarized distributions have been largely ineffective and deadly, and opening Gaza’s crossings for unhindered humanitarian aid is essential to preventing widespread famine and suffering.

Key points:

The crisis in Gaza is driven by an Israeli-imposed near-total blockade and militarized aid distribution system.
Aid distribution is hindered by ongoing bombardments, Israeli access denials, and insecurity on the roads.
The blockade and restricted crossings have created a near-total aid blockade that prevents adequate food, medical supplies, and essential services from entering Gaza.
The collapse of 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure, including electricity, water, sanitation, and healthcare, exacerbates the humanitarian crisis and heightens the risk of famine and disease.
Opening Gaza’s crossings for unhindered humanitarian aid is essential to preventing widespread famine and suffering.

This assessment is based on Amnesty International, UN reports, and Red Cross documentation as of July 2025.

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