Food is slowly returning to the Gaza Strip amid "apocalyptic scenes", but UN humanitarian officials said on Tuesday that supplies are still desperately inadequate. They issued fresh calls for wider access and more border crossings to be opened, as well as continued financial support. Since the resumption of general food distributions on October 13, nearly half of Gaza's population has received food parcels.
Briefing reporters in Geneva, Abeer Etefa, spokesperson at the World Food Programme (WFP), said that, following two years of war, families were still struggling to put food on the table. In October, hundreds of thousands of people returned to northern Gaza, where famine was declared at the end of August, where access to food remains "severely limited".
While many returnees have found their homes in ruins, she warned that the displaced people remaining in the south are "often living in tents and without access to food and services".
Speaking from Cairo, Etefa said that, three and a half weeks into the fragile ceasefire, WFP had distributed food parcels to around one million people across the Strip, against a target of 1.6 million, as part of the broad operation to push back hunger in Gaza.
With more supplies reaching the warehouses safely during the ceasefire period, efforts are ongoing so that, by November, families can receive two food parcels per month, up from one in October.
Currently, there are 44 WFP food distribution points active across Gaza, compared to a target of 145.
“Supplies are still limited, so each family is receiving a reduced food ration, which is one parcel, and that's enough food for 10 days,” she explained.
More access and more crossings are urgently needed
The WFP spokesperson explained that in order to continue to expand operations “to the level required and the level that we have committed to, we really need more access, more border crossings to be opened and […] more access to key roads inside Gaza.”
On Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that no food aid convoy had reached the north via any direct crossings since September 12.
“We still have only two border crossing points that are operational,” Etefa emphasized, referring to Kerem Shalom in the south of the enclave and Kissufim in central Gaza.
“This severely limits the quantity of aid that WFP and other agencies are able to bring in to stabilize the markets and to address people's needs,” she said, highlighting the fact that the continued closure of the northern crossings into the Gaza Strip means that aid convoys are obliged to “follow a slow, difficult route from the south.”
The spokesperson for the UN agency also said that around 700,000 people receive fresh bread daily through 17 WFP-supported bakeries — nine in southern and central Gaza and eight in the north — with the aim of scaling up to 25.
Speaking from Gaza, WFP Communications Officer Nour Hammad said that while she was witnessing “apocalyptic scenes” across the enclave she also saw on people’s faces “the joy that the guns have fallen silent after all this time and the fear of whether or not the silence will last”.
She said that Gazans likened the destruction brought on by over two years of war to “the aftermath of an earthquake”.
“In every distribution point I have been to across the Gaza Strip over the past couple of days, people tell me one thing: this assistance matters,” she said. After months of “surviving on bits and pieces, rationing food, stretching one meal over days”, people are finally accessing “fresh bread, food parcels, cash transfers, nutrition and support”.
“This is where the journey to recovery starts,” Hammad stressed. While 200,000 of the most vulnerable are now receiving digital cash payments in order to “complement the food baskets with fresh foods” from local markets, prices there remain prohibitive.
“Food is slowly coming back to the shelves, but prices are still beyond the reach of families, considering […] that they have depleted their resources to survive two years of war,” Hammad said.
“Today, for example, I buy one apple at the cost of a kilo before the war,” she explained.
Fragility of the ceasefire and of aid flows
Hammad said that the fragility of the ceasefire and of the flow of aid is at the center of people’s concerns as she recounted the story of a displaced mother she met in Gaza City. Even though the woman is receiving assistance, she has warned her children against eating the rations right away because “she cannot trust that tomorrow we'll bring food too,” said the WFP communications officer.
“Families invite us into their tents […] worn out by winter cold and summer heat, and they want to show us their reality. And their reality is that people need food. People need shelter, people need warm clothing because winter is around the corner and they need continued support,” she concluded.
On Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that the ongoing expansion of the aid response is already positively impacting people in all areas of Gaza. However, the office warned that much more is needed to address the full scope of needs and ensure that no one is left behind.
Today, OCHA reported that the UN and its humanitarian partners are continuing to scale up their operations in the territory, in line with the 60-day response plan, which includes moving cargo into Gaza and collecting supplies from the open crossings.
The UN humanitarian office reiterated that to fully deliver on the 60-day plan, the UN and its partners require a lasting ceasefire, more functional crossings, the removal of bureaucratic obstacles, safe and viable internal routes, sustained funding, and unimpeded access, including for non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The ceasefire that took effect in Gaza on October 10 allowed many humanitarian organizations to gradually resume operations in previously inaccessible areas and expand the delivery of aid and services. However, Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire several times by launching heavy air bombardments on the territory, killing hundreds of civilians.
On October 9, two years after launching a war against the Gaza Strip, Israel had signed a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with the Palestinian armed group Hamas. The agreement halted the fighting in the devastated territory, at least temporarily, and raised hopes for an end to the brutal conflict marked by widespread atrocities committed by Israeli government and military officials.
The ceasefire deal was reached as more than two million civilians in Gaza are facing a humanitarian catastrophe, with famine ravaging parts of the territory. Though far from perfect, the agreement is seen as an essential first step toward ending the two-year conflict and establishing lasting peace and reconstruction in Gaza.
The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip deteriorated further due to the obstruction of essential supplies. For about six months, Israel had fully or effectively blocked the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into the territory. This led to mounting reports of widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease, which caused an increase in hunger-related deaths.
More than 239,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, injured, or maimed in Israeli military operations. The total recorded death toll since October 2023 is over 68,000, including over 20,000 children, while the total number of injuries exceeds 170,000. However, the actual number of casualties due to the war is estimated to be much higher.