Israel is continuing to block vital supplies to Gaza despite agreeing to allow aid in as part of the ceasefire agreement, aid agencies warn.
Blocked supplies include food, medicines, tents, and blankets and also materials desperately needed to start rebuilding water treatment and sewage systems.
Oxfam’s policy lead for the occupied Palestinian territories, Bushra Khalidi, said, “ People are calling this a ceasefire, but it doesn’t feel like peace. It feels like it’s an intermission between tragedies.”
Speaking at a video press briefing yesterday (video 1), she said aid trucks are “crawling through a handful of crossings that open and close at will” and while “we’re told that conditions are improving, improvement from near zero is not how we measure progress in a humanitarian response.
“Progress is measured by whether people’s needs are met, whether families have enough food, whether they have clean water, whether they have shelter, whether they have access to medical care, whether they have safety to live with dignity.
“By that measure, Gaza’s nowhere close.”
Jamil Sawalmeh, country director of ActionAid Palestine, said that although the ceasefire agreement has left the world “sighing with relief,” the genocide in Gaza continues.
“The current ceasefire …
