Only 74 trucks of food, water and medicine have been allowed to enter Gaza since the war began, which aid groups have described as grossly inadequate.
According to the United Nations, before the fighting began, about 500 trucks entered daily.
Israel has cut off supplies of food, water and electricity to Gaza, and has insisted that no fuel be imported because it could be used by Hamas, which it has banned in response to the October 7 attacks. I have vowed to destroy.
This has forced the closure of 12 of the 35 hospitals in the area, forcing UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, to “significantly reduce its operations”.
“Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian response, no aid reaching those in need, no electricity for hospitals, no access to clean water and no availability of bread,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Israel has drawn staunch support from allies including the United States for its military action in Gaza, demanding the release of 224 hostages seized from Hamas on October 7, which include a mix of Israeli and foreign nationals.
The fate of the hostages remains a complicating factor for Israel’s planned ground operation.
Hamas’s armed wing said on Thursday that “about 50” hostages were killed in the bombing, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
The four female hostages have been released, but the suffering continues for the relatives of those left behind.
On the day her nephew and his wife were kidnapped, Moran Betzer Tayar said, “Our lives stopped,” telling reporters in Paris that she was “worried sick” and that the hostages’ fate was in the public eye. Was desperate to keep it.