Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute the aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.
Oxfam and other international humanitarian agencies have been continually prevented from delivering lifesaving aid in the North Gaza Governorate since 6 October.
“We have run out of words to describe the situation.”
“But the facts we’re presenting today speak for themselves, detailing how aid deliveries continue to be blocked, deliberately hampered and targeted by Israel’s military. What follows is an account of how 34 aid trucks were reduced to twelve and the methods used to do so.”
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
From 6 October, Israel has permitted just 34 UN trucks of food and water to enter the North Gaza Governorate. A convoy of 11 trucks last month was initially held up at the holding point by the Israeli military at Jabalia, where some food was taken by starving civilians. After the green light to proceed to the destination was received, the trucks were then stopped further on at a military checkpoint. Soldiers forced the drivers to offload the aid in a militarised zone, which desperate civilians had no access to.
The following week, Israel permitted 14 more trucks. Due to the delay in receiving the final authorisation from the Israeli authorities, only three trucks were able to enter. They carried ready-to-eat rations, wheat flour and water and reached the intended destination of Mahdia al-Shawa school in Beit Hanoun where displaced families were sheltering. While the aid was distributed, within hours soldiers and quadcopters fired on the school and people were ordered to leave. The next day the Israeli military returned and shelled the school, burning down the buildings.
On 20 December, Israel finally permitted a further 9 UN trucks to deliver food and water to an aid distribution point in Beit Hanoun, where civilians sheltering in schools were able to collect it. People said that they were barely surviving and had so little to eat, they were eating leaves.
“Oxfam have been in Gaza for decades and we still have staff and partners valiantly working there under these near impossible conditions. Our message this Christmas week is now is not the time to falter. Despite its obligations as an occupying power under international law, Israel continues to weaponise hunger and cold to devastate Palestinian civilians. These actions are not just abhorrent—they are illegal.”
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director said:
“The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic and people are trapped, unable to find any kind of safety.
“Gaza has been widely destroyed and the entire population is suffering. The public sector has collapsed and the humanitarian system is on its knees. We plead with the entire international community – stop this, now. You have the diplomatic and economic levers to make Israel stop. Every day that passes without a ceasefire is a death sentence for hundreds more civilians.”
— Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director.
As winter bites across Gaza, aid deliveries continue to be blocked, deliberately hampered and targeted by Israel’s military. All crossings are barely functional, with only Erez West (Zikim) operating with any consistency. Oxfam staff said this week that humanitarian access everywhere is at an all-time low. Winter weather conditions are expected to affect more than 1.6 million people living in makeshift shelters, including half a million in flood-prone areas. The UN reported that so far, only 23 per cent of displaced people across the Gaza Strip have received support to help protect them from the rain and cold, leaving over 900,000 people at risk of exposure.
People have told Oxfam about trying to survive with their families amidst crippling hunger. A man who was forced to evacuate with his family from Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza with little notice last week said:
“Adults tell the kids not to play so they don’t get dizzy. One pack of biscuits is all we have for 15 grandchildren. We need shelter but a simple plastic tarpaulin costs $180 and we would need at least five to make a basic tent. There’s no chance of light or power. We’re doing everything we can, but it’s not enough.”
Soaring food prices and scarcity across Gaza mean that people are no longer able to buy food by the kilogram, for example buying a single tomato or green pepper for their family. An Oxfam staff member described how the entire family searched Deir al-Balah for one egg to try and provide calcium for a relative with a broken bone. The egg cost nearly $6. Only five bakeries out of nineteen are operational, and many people are risking their lives in overcrowded queues, sometimes waiting from as early as 3am just to secure basic supplies.
Oxfam is demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and unlawfully detained Palestinians.
The obstruction of humanitarian aid efforts must end, with protection of civilians and unhindered access for all lifesaving aid to the Gaza Strip, including the North Gaza Governorate. Palestinians must be given the freedom to move home, rebuild, and live in peace and dignity, free of occupation or blockade.
ENDS
For more information and interviews, please contact:
Clare Cronin, Head of Communications – Oxfam Ireland clare.cronin@oxfam.org +353 (0) 87 195 2551
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that since 6 October to 16 December 2024, the UN and partners have tried to coordinate 137 missions to the North Gaza Governorate. More than 90 per cent – 124 – were denied outright. Two were approved; the UN World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 11 trucks carrying food and water on 7 November and the WFP convoy of 14 trucks – of which only three were able to enter – on 11 November.
The other 11, which were all medical evacuation/assessment missions at Kamal Adwan Hospital, were approved but one could not reach the hospital due to military activity and the rest all faced impediments along the way.
The Mahdia al-Shawa school was shelled by the Israeli military on 12 November.
The OCHA flash update on 10 December confirmed there were still 65-75,000 people still in the North Gaza Governorate. This number is thought to be significantly lower now, but due to access restrictions, no accurate estimates are available
A Protection Cluster report on 2 December detailed how vulnerable people were calling protection charities operating in Gaza and women and children are being forced to increasingly resort to searching piles of rubbish barefoot and without gloves for food scraps
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare. As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza. In 2018, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2417, which unanimously condemned the use of starvation against civilians as a method of warfare and declared any denial of humanitarian access a violation of international law.
“We have run out of words to describe the situation.”
