Gaza Aid Crisis: Warehouses Overflow While Palestinians Face Flooding and Restrictions
Table of Contents
Despite a desperate humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, vast quantities of aid are being held up in Jordan and Egypt, according to reports, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians vulnerable as winter approaches. The majority of this aid has been stalled since March, with only a minimal amount reaching those in need due to what authorities describe as Israeli restrictions.
The situation is particularly dire as heavy rains across the region have caused widespread flooding, impacting tens of thousands of families living in makeshift tents. Sky News reports having observed multiple warehouses in Amman, Jordan, packed with critical supplies intended for the Gaza Strip, alongside three other similar locations run by Jordanian authorities. The United Nations is also storing significant amounts of aid within Jordan, and even more is being held in Egypt – enough food, according to UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General Natalie Boucly, to feed the entire Gaza population for approximately three months.
“The aid in Jordan alone includes critical supplies such as tents and tarpaulins as well as blankets, mattresses, medicines like paracetamol as well as baby formula… all being stored here and held back,” stated Sky’s special correspondent Alex Crawford, reporting from Amman. “According to the UN here in Jordan and the Jordanian authorities, all [of it] is being refused entry by the Israelis.”
UNICEF Calls for Unimpeded Access
The UN aid agency for children, UNICEF, has issued a direct appeal to Israel to allow all of its supplies into Gaza. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), UNICEF detailed that it had already distributed over 5,000 tents, 220,000 tarps, and 29,000 winter clothes kits.
The Israeli defense body responsible for humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, maintains that it is allowing winter materials, including blankets and tarps, to enter the Strip. However, aid organizations warn these efforts are wholly insufficient given the scale of the need, with an estimated 1.4 million people currently classified as vulnerable. COGAT, also on X, claimed to have “facilitated close to 140,000 tarpaulins directly to the residents of the Gaza Strip” and called on international organizations to increase their contributions of tents and tarpaulins.
Ceasefire Nearing End, Aid Distribution Remains a Sticking Point
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 10th, is drawing to a close. Israeli forces are withdrawing to a designated ‘yellow line’ while Hamas has released all living Israeli captives held in Gaza. However, the return of the remains of three additional hostages remains a condition for progressing to the second stage, which would involve an international stabilization force overseeing security in Gaza.
A vote is scheduled for Monday at the UN Security Council on a US proposal for a UN mandate for this force, despite opposition from Russia, China, and several Arab nations.
The United Nations asserts that Israel is in violation of international humanitarian law and bears the responsibility, as the occupying force, to ensure the safe distribution and coordination of life-saving aid. An Israeli military official explained to Sky News that aid shipments from Jordan were halted after the main border crossing was closed in September following an attack that resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers by a Jordanian truck driver. The official stated the crossing will remain closed pending the completion of an investigation, but emphasized that alternative routes through Egypt remain open, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily under the current ceasefire agreement.
Dire Conditions in Muwasi Camp
Meanwhile, conditions in the Muwasi tent camp in Gaza are rapidly deteriorating. Winter’s first heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding in the flimsy tents housing tens of thousands of displaced families. Residents are desperately attempting to dig trenches to divert the water, but intermittent rains are breaching tarpaulins and makeshift shelters.
“Water puddles are inches high, and there is no proper drainage,” said resident Assil Naggar, describing the devastation to his and his neighbors’ belongings.
The UN estimates that Muwasi sheltered up to 425,000 displaced Palestinians earlier this year, the vast majority living in temporary tents after Israel’s military operations displaced most of Gaza’s population of over two million people. The bombardment has left the vast majority of Gaza’s infrastructure either destroyed or severely damaged.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in nearly 70,000 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. These casualties are a consequence of the Israeli military campaign launched in response to attacks by Hamas militants inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken.
