About 560 tonnes of food entered Gaza daily since ceasefire but more needed: WFP
The UN World Food Programme says it has brought in about 560 tonnes of food per day on average into Gaza since the ceasefire began, but the amount is still below what is needed.
“We’re still below what we need, but we’re getting there … The ceasefire has opened a narrow window of opportunity, and WFP is moving very quickly and swiftly to scale up food assistance,” WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters in Geneva.
The UN agency earlier today said it has enough food to feed all of Gaza for three months.
That's 28 trucks avg daily, about 250 grams of food per person daily. Still well below the 1.5 kg daily needs per person. Plus another 1.5 to 3 liters (same as kg) of drinking water.
Ceasefire could crumble due to issues over Rafah crossing
The Rafah crossing is a strategic element for Netanyahu, says Andrea Dessi, an assistant professor in international relations at the American University of Rome.
“Israel has no intention … at the time being, of really reopening the crossing and, let alone allowing the Palestinian Authority to return to man the crossing on the Palestinian side,” Dessi told Al Jazeera, speaking from Rome, Italy.
The crossing is a vital lifeline for aid and medical evacuations, and Israel’s restrictions on it are a violation of international law, he said.
“[But] if we only talk about evacuations for medical reasons, this could also be construed as contributing to the diluting of the Palestinian population in Gaza, or the ethnic cleansing of the population in Gaza, so Egypt, but also other actors, Turkey, Qatar, as well as the Europeans, really should step up and coordinate amongst themselves to present a united front vis-a-vis both Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu,” Dessi added.
“There is a serious risk that this plan will not even see its fruition because of the issues at the Rafah crossing. So it would be in the interest of everyone to resolve this issue quickly.”
Israeli settlers block aid to Gaza
A far-right Israeli group, Tsav 9, is blocking trucks from carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing.
The group, in a post on X, said its members were “currently obstructing the passage of aid trucks” at multiple points en route to the crossing, which is controlled by Israel.
The group claimed that “Hamas violates the agreement and refuses to return hostages, so aid that enables them to rebuild must be halted,” adding: “No aid truck will pass until the last dead is returned.”
The Israeli extremist group posted a video showing its members blocking an aid truck from passing.
Tsav 9 repeatedly disrupted aid deliveries to Gaza during the Israeli genocide by blocking roads leading to crossings, staging protests, and in some cases, looting or damaging aid shipments, according to The Times of Israel.
Hamas has released 20 living Israeli captives and handed over the remains of 10 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement. The Palestinian group has said it is working to recover the remaining bodies of Israeli captives.
