The role of aid is surging into Gaza under the ceasefire, with an increase to 600 aid trucks per day, but there are concerns about distribution and unexploded bombs.

The Role of Aid is surging into Gaza under the ceasefire. Is it helping?

Two weeks after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect, aid is flooding into the Gaza Strip, bringing relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass displacement and devastation following 15 months of war.

But Palestinians and aid workers say it's still an uphill battle to ensure the assistance reaches everyone. And looming large is the possibility that fighting will resume if the ceasefire breaks down after the six-week first phase.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel said it would allow 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day, a major increase. Israel estimates that at least 4,200 trucks have entered each week since the ceasefire took hold.

Humanitarian groups say aid distribution is complicated by destroyed or damaged roads, Israeli inspections and the threat of unexploded bombs.


On Saturday, Samir Abu Holi, 68, watched over a food distribution point in Jabaliya, an area in northern Gaza razed to the ground during multiple Israeli offensives, the most recent of which cut off nearly all aid for over a month.

I have more than 10 children. All of them need milk and food. Before the ceasefire, we used to provide food with difficulty, he said. Today there is a little relief.

Here's a closer look at the aid situation

A surge of aid

The main UN food agency, the World Food Program, said it dispersed more food to Palestinians in Gaza during the first four days of the ceasefire than it did during the entire month before that.

The aid organization stated that providing this assistance was made easier by a number of factors increased availability of goods in Israel and the West Bank, the opening of crossings between Israel and Gaza for humanitarian purposes, and the efforts of international donors who have provided funds to purchase food locally and import it from overseas sources.

According to WFP's Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, all these elements combined allowed WFP to scale up dramatically our operations in Gaza.

In addition to distributing aid through its own network of partners on the ground, WFP worked closely with other agencies such as UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) which operates schools that serve as feeding centers during school hours.

UNRWA has been providing hot meals every day since classes resumed after Eid al-Fitr holiday.

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CEO / Co-Founder

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