The four-day humanitarian pause in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip will be vital to allow humanitarian agencies into the stricken Palestinian enclave with much-needed supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine. But four days is a very short window to meet the vast humanitarian needs, given the damage wrought by more than a month of bombardment by the Israeli Defense Forces.
For the first two weeks of Israel’s assault on Gaza, the strip was placed into a state of siege by Israel and access completely blocked. Since October 21, after calls from around the world for humanitarian pauses or a ceasefire, some aid has been allowed into the strip. But the 1,479 aid trucks that have been allowed in during this period represent only 14% of the monthly volume of commercial goods and humanitarian aid that was being delivered to Gaza prior to the conflict.
The situation in Gaza is dire. The World Food Programme reports that fuel shortages have forced bakeries to shut down across the strip, making bread – a basic food staple – almost impossible to find. This has caused food prices to rise significantly.
