Israel allows first aid trucks to enter Gaza City after ‘imposed famine’ of over 80 days

Israel has allowed aid trucks to enter Gaza City for the first time in nearly three months, according to Nahed Shehaibar, head of the Private Transport Association, which provided trucks for the deliveries, and an eyewitness who saw the trucks pass on the road.

“The Occupation allowed three trucks carrying food supplements to enter Gaza City,” Shehaibar told Mada Masr.

This is the first aid of its kind to reach the areas of the Gaza Strip north of the Netsarim axis since Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas in early March and resumed its genocidal war and siege against Palestinians in the strip. The siege was interrupted last week when small quantities of food aid were allowed to enter central and southern areas of the strip, though two aid distribution sources said at the time that Israel refused to grant permission for aid to enter north Gaza.

Agencies in the aid distribution network coordinated with Israel for permission to allow the three trucks to enter northern Gaza at night, Shehaibar said. Trucks must gain Israeli military clearance for their passage to the north, Abdel Nasser al-Ajramy, head of the Bakery Owners Association in Gaza, told Mada Masr last week.

Israel refused to allow the trucks to travel at night, only allowing the trucks to enter during daylight hours on Sunday morning, Shehaibar added.

The trucks were carrying aid that had entered via the Karam Abu Salem crossing several days ago, he said. 

They took Rashid Street to arrive at Gaza City, according to Shehaibar. Most of the trucks’ contents reached warehouses in the Daraj area in Gaza City’s east. Shehaibar noted, however, that some citizens raided the vehicles at the Samer junction in the center of Gaza City, saying it is “the Occupation which forced citizens to do this by imposing famine and preventing the entry of food for months.” 

Theft of food and other supplies has become increasingly common across the strip as scarcity has set in amid Israel’s blockade on all food, fuel and medical supplies, in effect for more than 80 consecutive days.

Footage shared on social media showed a large crowd rushing toward a truck. An eyewitness who was present at the Samer junction said that dozens of citizens boarded the trucks thinking the aid was flour and were surprised to discover it contained only food supplements. The items stolen were insignificant, the eyewitness said, noting that it didn't take long for the trucks to bypass the crowds and continue on their way.

Local officials have estimated that over 1 million people are currently sheltering in Gaza City, in northern Gaza, where Israeli troops have advanced over recent days, while a heavy bombardment campaign has destroyed much of the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Jabalia. 

Northern Gaza is separated from the central and southern governorates by a strip of land dubbed the Netsarim axis and occupied by Israeli forces. There have been reports of indiscriminate killing and abductions by Israeli forces at the site.

Flour was delivered on Thursday last week to some of the strip’s bakeries, namely in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in the south and central regions. 

The total amount of aid that has arrived in the Gaza Strip since the opening of the Karam Abu Salem crossing a few days ago is 300 trucks for various institutions, Shehaibar noted. Before Israel launched its aggression on the strip in October 2023, around 500 trucks entered the coastal enclave daily.

Aid agencies have pointed out that the supplies allowed into the strip will do little to mitigate the dire need among people suffering amid nearly three months of uninterrupted war and blockade. UN humanitarian coordinator Tom Fletcher described the permitted supplies as a drop in the ocean and totally inadequate.

No new aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, Shehaibar said on Sunday afternoon.