Food, medicine and shelter stockpiles in Gaza are limited and aid intended for Palestinians in desperate need may spoil following Israel's suspension of deliveries to the enclave, humanitarian agencies said.
Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated.
"Much of what has come in over the past few weeks has already been distributed...Now, already we are seeing price increases", a United Nations official in Gaza told Reuters.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that the suspension of aid will add significant pressure on the two million Palestinians in the enclave who are still suffering from shortages of essential goods following 16 months of war.
Israel has previously accused Hamas of hijacking aid, which the Palestinian resistance group denied.
"Any further challenges to access to food and access to clean water could have devastating consequences. The spike in food and good prices is creating fear and uncertainty, Caroline Seguin, MSF emergency coordinator, in Gaza told Reuters.
Salama Marouf, head of the Palestine’s government media office in Gaza, said enough food was in markets for at least two weeks and urged Palestinians not to panic.
TRT Global - Israel’s halt of aid to Gaza has raised tensions, as Hamas accuses Israel of war crimes and Egypt and Qatar accuse Israel of violating international law by blocking essential supplies.
Logistical impact
More than 300 trucks loaded with aid were stopped from crossing the border from Egypt on Sunday, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).
Its five warehouses in Egypt that stock food, water and medicines are currently at 50 percent capacity and expiry dates are being checked.
"We have warehouse capacity for now, but we cannot be sure how long that will continue", operations coordinator for the IFRC in Egypt, Jurgen Hogl, told Reuters.
MSF has 14 trucks of aid shipments in Egypt and Jordan, mainly medical supplies, waiting to be shipped into Gaza.
"We are concerned that if drug supplies would be maintained in trucks for months at end, and exposed to the sun, it could shorten the lifespan of medicines and decrease the efficiency of the drugs", said Seguin.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned it could reach a point that agencies halt shipments of aid altogether, as was the case when aid was restricted at the beginning of the war.
"It's costly for us to keep aid in warehouses or packed up on trucks, waiting in queues", NRC spokesperson Shaina Low told Reuters.
Phase two talks to negotiate an end to the war have barely begun. Israel, while announcing the halt to aid entry, said it will not allow a ceasefire without the release of all remaining hostages.
Hamas has denounced Israel's move as "blackmail" and a "blatant coup against the agreement".
Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, while 251 others were taken into Gaza as hostages. The subsequent Israeli war on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians—a figure later revised by Gaza officials to over 62,000—displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million residents and left the Palestinian territory a wasteland.
TRT Global - Israel has not agreed to move forward to the second phase of the deal to bring an end to its war in Palestine's Gaza.
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