As the Rafah Offensive Continues, Hunger in Gaza Increases

“We shouldn’t wait for an official declaration of famine” to flood Gaza with aid, he said.

While some of the food arrived in Gaza through three northern crossings, it did not fill the gap left by the two southern crossings, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations’ humanitarian coordination agency, said last week.

The United Nations World Food Program said 59 trucks of aid were delivered to warehouses in Gaza from a temporary dock built by the United States on Wednesday and that, to the program’s knowledge, all contents arrived intact. However, the Palestinians intercepted and emptied another 11 trucks traveling through the central Gaza region, the agency said.

“If the crossings remain closed, goods will become scarce and prices will rise dramatically,” said Nidal Kuhail, 30, a Gaza resident who has taken refuge in Rafah, noting that he has no longer seen humanitarian trucks entering the city. “The suffering will increase at every level and we will find neither food nor drink.”

The World Health Organization said this month that 58 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition were admitted to special treatment centers in Gaza. But since the Rafah operation began, many of these centers have been closed, while new ones set to open in northern Gaza have been suspended, the United Nations said.