After 11 weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government finally relented: this week,trucks have been allowed to drive into the Gaza Strip to bring humanitarian aid to the population, which is at risk of famine as the war continues to rage. Netanyahu said it was important that the "red line" of starvation not be crossed in order to maintain international support.

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an Israeli Defense Ministry unit that oversees civilian policy in the Palestinian occupied territories, 198 trucks carrying humanitarian aid passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing between May 20 and May 22. The border crossing is at the junction between two border sections — one between the Gaza Strip and Israel, the other between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. COGAT said that on May 20 and 21, 98 trucks had been inspected and 100 more on May 22. The humanitarian aid includes flour for bakeries, baby food, medical equipment and medicine.

Critics said this is but a "drop in the ocean." During the ceasefire earlier this year, which Israel broke in March, there were up to 600 trucks crossing the border into the Gaza Strip each day to supply the population of approximately 2 million.

Moreover, the United Nations said that it took some time before they were able to collect and start dispatching the supplies, but added that some bakeries had been able to start making bread again on Thursday.

The supplies got stuck at distribution points because of a lack of security clearance. Martin Frick, the head of the World Food Program (WFP) Global Office for Germany, told DW that it had been able to distribute the first lot of humanitarian aid. "That is a small glimmer of hope, but far too little in view of the need. Hundreds of trucks would be needed each day. They are ready behind the border," he said.

A huge buffer zone has been created behind the border. For weeks, the WFP has had more than 116,000 tons of food assistance ready at different aid corridors in Egypt, Jordan and Israel — enough to supply 1 million people for around four months. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), there are also almost 3,000 fully loaded aid trucks ready to go.

However, movement to the distribution points is slow. At Kerem Shalom,  the only border crossing into Gaza that is currently open, all supplies have to be loaded onto other trucks. The convoys then wait at an assembly point until the supplies and the planned route get the green light from the Israeli military. The go-ahead can also be revoked at any time, meaning they have to wait again. Thus, pallets of flour and baby food pile up, while the soup kitchens have nothing to cook or distribute.

UNRWA plays a major role in Gaza. It manages the emergency shelters, and it has filled 3,000 trucks with aid. The WFP, meanwhile, procures flour, organizes convoys and operates 25 bakeries, which it had to close at the end of March due to a lack of fuel. Some of them resumed their work on May 22. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) contribute special food, vaccines and surgical instruments and equipment.

They are supported by the Egyptian, Jordanian, Qatari, Emirati and Turkish Red Crescent societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and dozens of international NGOs, such as Islamic Relief.

Bilateral aid supplies from EU members or the US are subjected to the same inspections by the Israeli military and thus also likely to be delayed before entering Gaza.

The Israeli government has said it plans to work with private US security and logistics firms to set up what it calls "secure hubs" to help agencies distribute humanitarian aid supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. The UN has criticized the plan, warning that it would set a dangerous precedent and arguing that it already had all the distribution networks in place, as well as the necessary experience. 

Israel justified its complete blockade from March 2 by saying that Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules Gaza and is classified as a terrorist organization by many states, was looting supplies. Only because of international pressure did it permit limited supplies to enter the Gaza Strip on what it said was a "temporary" basis until the new aid distribution centers were up and running.

As Israel and the UN discuss who should take responsibility, stocks remain in interim storage facilities. 

On top of this, logistical problems are mounting. Even those convoys allowed into Gaza are obstructed by bombs, looting and destroyed roads. Since there is a lack of diesel, it is harder for people to collect flour or operate cold chains. Thus, even the stocks in Gaza are largely inaccessible in depots. The price of bread has exploded.

The Amalthea Plan, a maritime corridor for emergency assistance from Cyprus to Gaza that was launched more than a year ago, did not turn out to be a reliable supply route. Though more than 100 tons of food were supplied via a temporary pier north of Gaza in March 2024, the operations were stopped after an Israeli attack killed seven aid workers of the non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK) in early April 2024.

In May 2024, the US military started using a floating jetty built off the coast of Gaza and planned to deliver between 90 and 150 trucks a day. Almost 9,000 tons of humanitarian aid were able to enter Gaza via the jetty, which was in operation for about 20 days. But the operations were constantly interrupted by adverse weather, security issues and looting. In July 2024, US officials put an end to the mission.

Recent efforts by smaller NGOS to provide aid to Gazans have also failed. On May 2, the ship Conscience that was operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was hit by a drone strike off the coast of Maltaas it made its way to Gaza carrying food and medicines. It had to turn back because of the damage and since then no civilian aid convoys have reached Gaza by ship.

Even before Israel's total blockade of humanitarian aid, more than two-thirds of Gaza's population were dependent on international aid.The past 11 weeks have only exacerbated an already dire situation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 93% (1.95 million people) were classified as being in "crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above)" between 1 April and 10 May. Of these, 12% (244,000 people) were in "IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe / Famine)" and 44% (925,000 people) in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency)."

"For the projection period from 11 May to the end of September 2025, the entire population in Gaza is expected to face crisis or worse acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above)," the FAO stated on its website.

"The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines Famine as a situation in which at least one in five households has an extreme lack of food and faces starvation and destitution, resulting in extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition and death," it says in its factsheet.

The fact is, Gaza needs around 1,300 tons of food every day so that 2.2 million people can be supplied with an average of 2,100 kcal. A standard aid truck carries around 25 tons, which means that around 50 to 60 trucks per day would be needed for food alone. As water, fuel, medicines and hygiene products also have to be imported, UN organizations estimate that at least 500 trucks are needed every day. If the influx remains at 100 trucks and distribution issues continue, the population of Gaza is at risk of famine in the coming weeks.

This article was originally written in German.

Edited by: Jess Smee