The groups say that since 2 March, the vast majority of international NGOs have not been able to deliver any trucks. July was a record month for entrance denials, with more than 60 requested entries being refused. It said the delivery of aid was needed urgently, otherwise hospitals would run out of basic supplies and children, people with disabilities and older people would die from malnutrition or preventable disease.
Aid Blockages and Israeli Response
However, crucial boxes of goods and foodstuffs like 744 tons of rice for six million meals were available but were blocked in Ashdod (only kilometres away from Gaza), said Sean Carroll, who is the Chief Executive Officer of aid group American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera). Israel said it had not imposed restrictions, and the guidelines were to ensure aid reached civilians, rather than militants from Hamas, which it says controls Gaza. Israeli officials have said any delays result from groups that do not accept basic security stipulations.
The Israeli military body overseeing aid, Cogat, this week claimed that close to 20 organisations which registered have been able to successfully deliver aid and supply the area with some 300 truckloads of goods from Israel daily. But the UN believes up to 600 trucks a day may be required to meet requirements.
Stricter Rules and Escalating Crisis
The August guidelines describe how organisations operating in Israel must register, and when registration may be denied or revoked. It can also bar groups working to deny Israel's democratic character or that engage in legal or public BDS - the global movement promoting boycotts, divestment and sanctions against it. Israeli officials argue that while some organisations are affiliated with hostile activities, others which have no such connection are permitted to operate.
Oxfam spokeswoman Bushra Khalidi said goods worth more than $2.5 million have been denied entry. She appealed to MSF and other partners not to concede their independence in response to the registration system. For its part, Israel also ramped up airstrikes against Gaza City in advance of its planned invasion. Israel has offered to supply aid to civilians outside combat zones. Still, it has not been said if the GHF, a group of 12 participating nations that coordinate with Israel and other humanitarians on supplies into Gaza, would be used as an intermediary.
Earlier this month, the UN reported 859 Palestinians killed in GHF-designed sites since May — a figure that GHF denies. On occasion, MSF representatives have charged Israel with utilising the system to turn the distribution of food into a weapon, declaring that Gaza's humanitarian circumstances remain "on life support. The health ministry said that nearly 62,000 Palestinians had been killed since the Hamas attack in Israel in 2023 that claimed around 1,200 lives and led to the seizure of 251 hostages. The agency also warns of 235 other deaths by starvation and malnutrition, 106 of them were children.
