In a gross violation of international humanitarian law, Israel has blocked the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since Sunday. The total blockade came amid stalled cessation of hostilities talks. The Red Cross Movement warns that the closure of all crossings for aid into Gaza poses a grave risk to the millions of people who have been struggling to survive for sixteen months.
As the occupying power, Israel has a legal obligation under international humanitarian law (IHL), in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention, to allow and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need. The deliberate obstruction of aid constitutes a serious violation of IHL and amounts to a war crime under international law. Blocking aid also violates international human rights law.
“It is vital that a ceasefire is maintained. The people of Gaza need safety, shelter, healthcare, food and psychological support while a sustainable solution for long-lasting peace is found,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement on Sunday.
The IFRC noted that Palestine Red Crescent volunteers and staff have responded tirelessly, providing emergency health services, relief items, shelter and psychological support - despite facing immense challenges of their own.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire, Red Crescent societies have been bringing much needed supplies into Gaza from Egypt, Jordan and the West Bank.
“The Jordanian Red Crescent and Egyptian Red Crescent have been working alongside Palestine Red Crescent to ensure this vital aid reached ravaged communities. Without access to aid, people’s lives are on a knife-edge once again,” the Federation said.
The IFRC reiterated its calls on the parties to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all parts of Gaza, to protect civilians, humanitarian and health workers and their facilities, and to respect the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblem.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities in Gaza. According to his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres on Sunday called for the immediate resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of all hostages.
Also on Sunday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned that the Israeli blockade of all aid into Gaza will have a devastating impact on more than two million civilians, who are already facing starvation and extreme deprivation.
“Humanitarian aid is not a privilege—it is a right,” said Angelita Caredda, NRC's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“People in Gaza are already facing desperate conditions. With food supplies running out, hospitals unable to function, and families struggling to find clean water, any restrictions on aid will push the civilian population beyond collapse.”
The NRC said international law was clear. Civilians must not be starved, medical facilities must be protected, and humanitarian organizations must be allowed to deliver aid independently and unimpeded.
“NRC urges all parties to uphold their obligations under international law and to allow the immediate, safe, and sustained entry of humanitarian assistance,” Caredda added.
“The Government of Israel must immediately reverse this decision. International actors must do everything in their power to ensure access to Gaza resumes, so that aid reaches those in need without any further delay or disruption.”
The NRC called for the immediate restoration of humanitarian access and the prioritization of civilian protection. The humanitarian organization said the international community must act swiftly to prevent further suffering and work towards a durable ceasefire that upholds the rights and dignity of all those affected.
On January 19, 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip went into effect. The first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired on Saturday. During the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, 600 trucks per day were allowed into Gaza, including 50 trucks of fuel.
The agreement has three phases, each lasting six weeks, but the terms of phases two and three have yet to be negotiated.
On Friday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the ceasefire must hold in order for the aid surge to continue, as the needs are immense, with a population of some 2.1 million Palestinians devastated after fifteen months of constant bombardment and forced displacement, and sixteen months of lack of critical resources.
Since the start of the ceasefire, a surge in aid supplies and improved access conditions have allowed humanitarian agencies to expand the delivery of life-saving assistance throughout the Gaza Strip, including in previously inaccessible areas.
For more than a year, Gaza has experienced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with people dying from widespread attacks, starvation, dehydration, disease and hypothermia. The relentless operations of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) resulted in mass casualties and widespread destruction.
According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people - or about 90 percent of the population - were uprooted throughout the territory during the war. Many have been repeatedly displaced, some a dozen times or more.
Since the start of the ceasefire, there have been large population movements as people try to return to what is left of their homes. Among the displaced, more than 600,000 people have returned to northern Gaza.
Thousands of humanitarian trucks carrying essential food, shelter and medicine have entered Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, allowing for a significant expansion of the humanitarian response. Since the beginning of the ceasefire, aid agencies have made unprecedented progress in delivering humanitarian aid to people in need.
In a major milestone, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) alone, in close coordination with other humanitarian organizations, has provided food aid to 2 million people, or more than 90 percent of the population, helping to bring about a modest improvement in food security.
UNRWA reported last week that more than half a million people in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip have received blankets, mattresses, floor mats, clothing and other items, including tarpaulins to protect them from the rain.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Thursday that since February, humanitarian partners have screened more than 100,000 children under the age of five for malnutrition and registered those who need treatment.
Aid agencies have also distributed medical supplies for some 1.8 million people, including kits for trauma and emergency care, primary health care, non-communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child care, as well as dignity kits and nutritional supplements. 
Last week, OCHA said that the UN and its humanitarian partners on the ground were seizing every opportunity to scale up the delivery of life-saving assistance to people in need in Gaza.
More than 586,000 children under the age of ten have been vaccinated against polio across Gaza, reaching 99 percent of those targeted since the campaign began on February 22. Average daily water production from groundwater wells has more than doubled since the ceasefire due to increased fuel availability and basic repairs.
OCHA stressed that maintaining the ceasefire is critical to further scaling up the response and preventing further loss of life and human suffering. All UN Member States must use their influence to ensure that the ceasefire holds, it urged.
While the ceasefire has brought some much-needed relief to Gaza, it has fallen far short of meeting the immense needs. Hospitals in Gaza continue to barely function, with fuel, medical supplies and equipment dwindling, leaving the wounded and sick without care.
Since October 7, 2023, more than 48,300 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Gaza and more than 111,700 injured, most of them civilians. However, the real numbers are estimated to be much higher. Among the dead are at least 385 aid workers, 278 UN staff, 1060 health workers and 200 journalists.
For more than a year, humanitarian aid into Gaza had been obstructed by Israeli officials in gross violation of international humanitarian law and in apparent use as a method of warfare.
Israel's war in Gaza has been marked by serious war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli security forces. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the situation in Gaza, after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November.
The worst crimes perpetrated by Israeli officials in Gaza include collective punishment of civilians, use of starvation as a method of warfare, denial of humanitarian aid, indiscriminate killing of civilians, disproportionate attacks, forced displacement, torture, enforced disappearances, and other atrocity crimes.
Further information
Full text: Statement: Without access to aid into Gaza Strip, people’s lives are on a knife-edge once again, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, press release, published March 2, 2025
https://www.ifrc.org/press-release/statement-without-access-aid-gaza-strip-peoples-lives-are-knife-edge-once-again
Full text: Suspension of humanitarian aid to Gaza will lead to more suffering, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), press release, published March 2, 2025
https://www.nrc.no/news/2025/march/suspension-of-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-will-lead-to-more-suffering