Trucks delivers urgent aid to Gaza as famine looms

Aid workers are delivering desperately needed food and supplies to those left in the ruins of Gaza. Photo: AAP
The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 915 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas after 15 months of war.
The UN cited information from Israel and the ceasefire guarantors, the US, Qatar and Egypt.
On Sunday, the UN said some 630 aid trucks entered the Palestinian enclave. At least 300 have gone to the north, where experts have warned a famine looms.
The ceasefire deal requires 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of the 600 aid trucks will be delivered to Gaza’s north.
Data from the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA showed 2892 aid trucks entered Gaza in December. Aid is dropped off on the Gaza side of the border, where it is picked up by the UN and distributed.
But gangs and looters have made that hard. Data from OCHA shows 2230 aid truckloads – an average of 72 a day – were picked up in December, while between January 1-5 it was a daily average of 51.
The ceasefire deal has begun and UNICEF trucks with water, hygiene kits and nutrition items are entering the Gaza Strip.
A ceasefire agreement is a critical first step, but it must be upheld. Parties to conflict must ensure safe, unimpeded access for aid to reach every child. pic.twitter.com/y4e2zbpBYO
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) January 19, 2025
Israel has laid waste to much of Gaza and the pre-war population of 2.3 million people has been displaced multiple times.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic”.
Guterres told the UN Security Council on Monday that the UN still faces “significant obstacles, challenges and constraints”. He said the UN aid groups and the private sector need rapid, safe and unimpeded access.
“Visas, permits, and other enabling conditions must be in place quickly to allow a surge of desperately needed relief,” he told the 15-member council.
“We require the necessary technical, protective and communications equipment.”
Guterres said Israel and Hamas must co-ordinate with the UN in a timely and effective manner so it can do its humanitarian work.
“This also includes the restoration of public order and safety to prevent the looting of humanitarian supplies,” he said.
He urged countries to take in people who need medical treatment, for sufficient commercial supplies to be able to enter Gaza and for explosive ordnances to be removed.
Israel says Hamas killed some 1200 people in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war and the Gaza health ministry says more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict.
-AAP