JERUSALEM — One major land crossing into Gaza was closed after a Hamas rocket attack, another by an Israeli raid. And only a trickle of help is coming in through a third crossing that just opened in recent weeks.
The latest developments threaten to worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, more than seven months after the Israeli strike launched in response to the Hamas attack on October 7.
The head of the UN food agency has said northern Gaza is already experiencing a “full-blown famine” and experts say almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians face severe hunger. The Israeli offensive has caused widespread devastation and made domestic food production almost impossible, leaving Gaza completely dependent on aid groups for food, medicine and basic goods.
Aid workers say airdrops and plans to deliver aid by sea are no substitute for ground deliveries.
Here’s a look at the status of the Gaza crossings:
The Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeast corner of Gaza is the only one designed to handle large cargo deliveries. It was closed on Sunday after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, says the crossing reopened on Wednesday and released a video showing trucks entering from the Israeli side.
But the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza, says no aid has actually entered Gaza from Kerem Shalom because of the security situation on the Palestinian side.
Foreign aid typically arrives in trucks from the Israeli side, is unloaded in a central area and then picked up by Palestinian drivers who take it to distribution points.
Hamas has continued to launch rockets and mortar shells at Israeli troops stationed near the crossing, including an attack on Wednesday after it reopened, and Israel periodically launches airstrikes in and around the nearby city of Rafah.
An Israeli tank brigade captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, forcing it to close. Israel said the limited raid was part of its efforts to dismantle Hamas’ military and governance capabilities.
Rafah is the main entry point for fuel needed for vehicles and generators that are essential for humanitarian efforts. The UN says it is already rationing fuel and does not have enough to sustain its operations in Gaza for more than a few days.
Rafah is also the only crossing that people can use to enter or leave Gaza. Palestinian officials say dozens of patients who were due to travel for medical treatment have been stranded.
It is not yet clear how long Israel plans to maintain the crossing or when it might reopen.
Israel recently began allowing the U.N. World Food Program to deliver aid through the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, which suffered widespread devastation in the early months of the war and has been largely isolated by forces. Israelis.
The UN food agency says there is a famine in northern Gaza and infectious diseases are spreading rapidly, with around 90% of children falling ill. Some 300,000 Palestinians remained in northern Gaza after Israel ordered the evacuation of the entire region in October.
The Erez Pass, which in the past was limited to pedestrian traffic, has been converted into a freight route.
COGAT said 60 aid trucks entered the north on Tuesday.
Jordan, the United States and other nations began airdropping aid to Gaza earlier this year, but aid agencies describe it as a costly, last-minute effort that cannot meet growing needs.
The United States has also completed construction of a floating dock and causeway for shipping aid by sea, but has not yet installed them on the Gaza coast due to bad weather. However, a ship loaded with American aid and bound for the new dock left Cyprus on Thursday.
Officials say they initially expect about 90 aid trucks per day and that will quickly grow to about 150 per day.
The UN refugee agency says an average of more than 250 trucks were entering Gaza through Rafah and Kerem Shalom before the rocket attack and raid.
Before the war, about 500 trucks entered Gaza through the two southern crossings.
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