Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Israel Restricts Aid Deliveries

Strategic Insights -

A week into the ceasefire, Israel continues to seal Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt, blocking large-scale aid deliveries despite repeated international calls to reopen the crossing. The United Nations has warned that the aid deliveries into Gaza are still below what is needed, with the World Food Programme (WFP) bringing an average of 560 tonnes of food per day into Gaza since the ceasefire began. The WFP has enough food to feed all of Gaza for three months, but thousands of aid vehicles are needed to tackle widespread malnutrition, displacement, and infrastructure collapse.

Key Takeaways:

  • Israel has sealed Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt, restricting large-scale aid deliveries despite international calls to reopen the crossing.
  • The UN has warned that aid deliveries into Gaza are still below what is needed, with the WFP bringing an average of 560 tonnes of food per day into Gaza since the ceasefire began.
  • The WFP has enough food to feed all of Gaza for three months, but thousands of aid vehicles are needed to tackle widespread malnutrition, displacement, and infrastructure collapse.
  • Israeli forces remain in approximately 53% of Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis is most acute.
  • Access to Gaza City and northern Gaza is extremely challenging, with broken or blocked roads hampering the movement of convoys of wheat flour and ready-to-eat food parcels.
  • Many relief agencies have not fully returned to the north, where hospitals are barely functioning, leaving many Palestinians unable to access regular care.
  • Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza have continued, with several Palestinians killed or injured in recent days.
  • Hamas has handed over all the bodies of Israeli captives it was able to recover, but returning more remains requires allowing heavy machinery and excavation equipment into Gaza.
  • Authorities in Gaza are struggling to identify dozens of bodies of slain Palestinians that were returned by Israel, with only six out of 120 bodies formally identified so far.
  • The bodies of Palestinians exhibited signs of torture, including hanging and rope marks, bound hands and feet, and gunfire at close range.

Statistics:

  • 560 tonnes of food per day brought into Gaza by the World Food Programme since the ceasefire began.
  • 53% of Gaza remains under Israeli occupation, where the humanitarian crisis is most acute.
  • 3,000 aid vehicles needed to enter Gaza weekly to tackle malnutrition, displacement, and infrastructure collapse.
  • 120 bodies of slain Palestinians returned by Israel, with only six formally identified so far.
  • 67,000 Palestinians killed in two years under Israeli bombardment.
  • 53% of Gaza's residents live below the poverty line.

Sources:

  • Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/15/un-calls-for-israel-to-open-more-gaza-crossings-for-surge-in-aid-deliveries)
  • World Food Programme (WFP)
  • United Nations (UN)
  • Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-gaza-ceasefire-insight-idUSKBN2AQ2F2)
  • Gaza's Government Media Office (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/15/gaza-medics-find-signs-of-torture-on-palestinian-bodies-returned-by-israel)