GazaHerald – Israel has moved to shut out some of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations from delivering aid to Gaza, rejecting dozens of requests for the entry of lifesaving supplies and claiming the groups are “not authorized” to operate.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, more than 100 international NGOs revealed that since 2 March not a single truck of aid has been allowed through under their management, despite Israeli authorities publicly insisting there are no restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
According to the NGOs, Israeli authorities denied over 60 requests in July alone, turning away food, medical supplies, and shelter items while Palestinians inside Gaza are being starved.
“Anera has over $7 million worth of supplies ready to enter Gaza, including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away,” said Sean Carroll, president and CEO of Anera.
The organizations now sidelined are not new actors in the Strip. Many have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities, and are experienced in safely delivering aid. Their exclusion, aid groups warn, is not only halting critical food and medical deliveries but also leaving hospitals without basic supplies and deepening the collapse of the health sector.
Bassam Zaqout, director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, said Israel’s policy aims at destroying Gaza’s healthcare system altogether.
“The continued prevention of medicines and supplies directly affects the most vulnerable, especially children whose bodies cannot recover with such limited resources,” he said.
Alarm Bells Raised
Doctors Without Borders echoed the alarm. Natasha Davies, its director of nursing activities, described the situation as catastrophic, noting that even the announcement of new aid points often ends in bloodshed as desperate families gather, only to be met with violence.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, confirmed that both his agency and NGOs have been blocked for more than five months from delivering aid. He said UNRWA warehouses in Egypt and Jordan are filled with enough food, medicine, and hygiene kits to fill 6,000 trucks, but Israeli restrictions have kept them stranded.
Lazzarini joined the NGOs in calling for a ceasefire and for aid deliveries to be managed under UN oversight, stressing that the international community cannot allow millions of Palestinians to be deliberately starved.
The rejection of major aid groups’ requests, combined with Israel’s threats to strip them of authorization altogether, has created a deliberate famine. Supplies exist and are positioned at the borders, yet Palestinians continue to die of hunger and preventable disease inside Gaza.
“The food is there, the medicine is there, the trucks are ready,” Carroll said. “What is missing is the permission to let them through.”
