Spectre of famine looms in Gaza as Israel keeps crossings shut

Israel is maintaining its closure of Gaza’s border crossings for the tenth day, including the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, which is the enclave’s primary commercial crossing and forms the main route for goods, food items and humanitarian aid.

On March 2, the Israeli government closed the border crossings, a week later cutting the electricity supply to Gaza’s vital southern desalination plant that provides drinking water to around half a million people in central and southern Gaza.

The Netanyahu government took the decision after Hamas refused to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, with the Palestinian group seeking a permanent end to the war.

Hamas accused Israel of seeking to extend the first phase rather than enter negotiations on the second phase so that it could recover the remaining captives while retaining the possibility of resuming the war afterwards.

Salama Maarouf, head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, said the food security of around 2.4 million people was threatened by Israel’s closures of the border crossings for the second week and its refusal to allow any relief or food supplies into the Strip.

In addition to cutting off vital supplies, Israel has also carried out daily violations and attacks on Palestinians throughout the period of the ceasefire.

While the month of Ramadan usually sees a rise in demand for food and goods, Israel’s decision has further exacerbated the already precarious living conditions in the Strip, where thousands are suffering severe malnutrition.

According to the United Nation’s humanitarian agency OCHA, since the ceasefire began, over 3,000 children and 1,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition and referred for treatment.

According to OCHA’s report, data collected in February had showed a slight improvement in the number of children, and pregnant and lactating women consuming the minimum required food groups.

However, it is feared this improvement will decline due to the policy of collective starvation being pursued by Israel through the closures.

This is especially because Israel never implemented the full terms of the humanitarian protocol included in the ceasefire deal.

This had stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, while the daily average allowed to cross had ranged between just 180 and 220 trucks.

Maarouf said to The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the spectre of famine had returned, and signs of this had started appearing clearly over the past two days.

He added that between 19 January and the end of phase one of the agreement, 161,820 tons of aid in total had entered Gaza, and that these quantities would soon run out if the crossings weren’t opened.

Israeli claims that there are enough supplies in Gaza now to last for months were “just lies”, he continued, explaining that what currently exists is only enough for a few days.

Here he highlighted that before the war, a minimum of 500 trucks per day had entered Gaza – far more than during the ceasefire period.

Around 83,000 tents had been brought in during this period, with an approximate load of between 140 and 160 tents per truck, which had further limited the amount of food and other essential relief items had actually been brought into the Strip during this time, Maarouf added.

He said food staples and supplies that entered had been directed to institutions responsible for food provision as well as directly to citizens through aid parcels. Most of Gaza’s residents depend either on food aid from international organisations, or from charitable food stands (“takiyaat”), many of which have shut in recent days due to the rapidly dwindling food supplies.  

Regarding bakeries, Maarouf stated that six out of 25 bakeries – all of which required cooking gas – had stopped operating, and it was likely that the others would close in the coming hours and days due to the fuel crisis.

This would mean the loss of bread, which is the most important source of food security for Gaza’s inhabitants, he warns.

Israel has used starvation as a weapon of war, which is explicitly prohibited in the Geneva Convention, several times against the people of Gaza, most prominently on 8 October 2023 when the decision was issued to close the crossings and cut off electricity and water.

Israel later used the same method, specifically in the Gaza City and Northern governorates, when it cut off food and aid supplies as part of its “Generals’ Plan” at the time.  

This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Yousef Abu Watfa on 11 March 2o25. To read the original article click here.