Bassam Abu Hussam knocks on every door he can find in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, where he has been displaced since early December 2023. His mission: to secure a three-kilogramme package of frozen meat being distributed by relief agencies. But for the 62-year-old and dozens of his displaced neighbours, this necessity remains out of reach.
“The distribution is unfair,” Bassam told The New Arab. “Favouritism and personal relationships mean that some people can get valuable aid items, while others can’t despite meeting the displacement and war damage criteria.”
His experience reflects the complex reality on the ground as the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) continues its work in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, where aid has been entering since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on 19 January – despite an Israeli ban on the agency.
At a popular market in Khan Younis, another resident, Mohammed Abu Amer, walks from vendor to vendor with his five-year-old child, Amer, searching for the lowest prices to feed his family of six. As a farmer whose land was destroyed in the war, he has had no income for over a year, forcing him to rely on borrowed money and aid organisations.
“At least now, the prices are more reasonable. For the past five months, I have not been able to buy tomatoes, potatoes or aubergines, but now I can. I even bought a kilo of apples for $4.50,” he said. “Still, if it weren’t for the aid I receive, my children would have starved.”
Increase in essential aid planned
Since 1950, UNRWA has been assisting Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. However, on Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition by the human rights group Adalah to challenge the ban.
The ban threatens life-saving aid, education, and healthcare for millions, with the UN repeatedly warning of the consequences. This is especially critical in Gaza, where over 15 months of Israeli bombings killed more than 47,000 people, and millions are facing dangerous levels of food insecurity.
To date, the Independent Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has reported that 96% of Gazans do not have enough to eat, with almost two million people facing crisis levels of food insecurity, 876,000 facing emergency levels, and 345,000 at catastrophic levels of food insecurity, at risk of famine.
According to OCHA, the UN humanitarian aid coordination agency, since the ceasefire went into effect, there has been a surge in supplies entering Gaza through the Erez and Zikim crossings in the north, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south.
In Al-Arish, the city closest to Egypt’s Rafah border with Gaza, Egyptian authorities have stated that thousands of tons of aid are ready to cross over in a massive convoy as soon as the crossing opens, which is expected to happen within days, with European and Palestinian observers present.
North Sinai Governor Khaled Mojawer told Anadolu news agency on Tuesday that while the Egyptian side of the crossing is fully operational, the Palestinian side has been badly damaged by Israeli military strikes.
According to OCHA, while the bulk of the aid consists of food items, an increase in the entry of shelter, medical, water and sanitation, and other essential supplies is planned. The World Food Programme (WFP) said that it brought more food to people in Gaza during the first four days of the ceasefire than it could previously dispatch on average per month.
Concerns over commitment
With flour available, 13Â WFP-supported bakeries reopened in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, resuming bread distribution, supported by UNRWA infrastructure.
The Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismail Al-Thawabta, told The New Arab that since the implementation of the ceasefire deal, more than 6,000 trucks have entered Gaza.
This includes 121 diesel trucks, 80 gas trucks, and about 900 trucks belonging to merchants containing light food items such as instant noodles, chips, nuts, juices, sauces, biscuits, chocolates, fruits, vegetables, and soft drinks.
Ismail noted that roughly 5,000 of the trucks, alongside food aid, carried cleaning supplies, mattresses, diapers, flour, blankets, mats, water, and dates.
“The humanitarian protocol stipulates the entry of at least 600 aid trucks a day,” said Ismail, “but not all of these trucks are for aid; some carry commercial goods and commodities like fuel,” noting that the number of aid trucks has decreased to 339 a day, raising concerns about the Occupation’s commitment to the agreement.
“We are not satisfied with the numbers of trucks entering,” he said, “first because this is much less than what the people need, and second, because they don’t reach all areas in Gaza, and third, because the humanitarian protocol allows the entry of more trucks, but the Occupation does not adhere to the agreement.”
For Bassam, the father of five and grandfather to a three-year-old boy whose house in central Khan Younis was completely destroyed, these statistics translate into daily struggles.
Now displaced on his land in Al-Mawasi, he has observed how the volume of distribution does not match the number of trucks entering Gaza.
While acknowledging the receipt of a package containing beans, lentils, oil, and chickpeas, he is disappointed that he had to buy the same meat package that was being distributed for free, for $22.
“We thought our conditions would change radically after the ceasefire, but the improvement is limited. We need a transparent distribution mechanism, no favouritism or nepotism,” said Bassam.
Reaching beneficiaries without discrimination
Markets, especially in the southern parts of Gaza, now have an abundance of goods and commodities, including vegetables, fruits, frozen white and red meat, candies, biscuits, chocolates, and soft drinks, most of which saw a significant fall in prices, but have yet to reach pre-war levels.
Vegetable prices range between $2-3 per kilogramme, fruits $4-6 per kilogramme, and frozen chicken $7 per kilogramme, all down by about 70% compared to the months before the ceasefire, but remain two or three times higher than before 7 October.
Taking this into consideration, the vast majority of Gazans have had no income for over 15 months, making them unable to afford basic necessities even if prices were to decrease.
“The ceasefire agreement stipulates that half of the aid must be directed to Gaza City and the north, but reports indicate that humanitarian conditions there still require immediate and comprehensive support,” said Ismail. “The [Israeli] occupation is still obstructing access to the north.”
In saying this, Ismail confirmed that government agencies in Gaza run by Hamas are cooperating fully with all UN and international organisations to help bodies like UNRWA, the WFP, and others, handle the distribution.
“Distribution mechanisms include registering beneficiaries and conducting needs assessments to ensure that aid reaches those most in need. We do not interfere in the work of these international organisations, even though we have reservations about some of their processes,” Ismail noted.
“The Palestinian government in Gaza does not control this aid, and if we observe any violations, we document and deliver them to the competent authorities within those organisations,” Ismail added.
“Our goal is for aid to reach its beneficiaries without discrimination.”
Mohamed Solaimane is a Gaza-based journalist with bylines in regional and international outlets, focusing on humanitarian and environmental issues
This piece is published in collaboration with Egab
