Gaza Ceasefire Conflict: Aid Blocked Amid Civilian Deaths

Gaza ceasefire conflict continues to jeopardize humanitarian efforts, as nearly six months post-ceasefire agreement in October 2025, the humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza remains critically endangered, according to Human Rights Watch. The Board of Peace is preparing to update the United Nations Security Council on May 21 regarding its six-month progress report, highlighting ongoing Israeli actions that jeopardize essential humanitarian lifelines. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that ongoing Israeli assaults have resulted in the deaths of at least 856 Palestinians and injuries to 2,463 others. The Board of Peace, established under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, aims to evaluate compliance with the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. A key component of this plan is the swift scale-up and protection of aid, alongside the restoration of vital civilian infrastructure. However, the volume of aid remains significantly below necessary levels, with crucial humanitarian access routes frequently blocked, as reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The plan was intended to provide relief. Instead, Palestinians in Gaza are still suffering from hunger, unable to access medical care, and continue to lose their lives,” stated Adam Coogle, Middle East deputy director at Human Rights Watch. “Regardless of what the Board of Peace presents to the Security Council, this reflects the harsh reality six months in.” In its May 15 report, the Board of Peace indicated that aid from UN agencies and partners surged by over 70 percent during the reporting period compared to pre-ceasefire levels. It noted that "basic food needs have been stabilized for the first time since 2023." However, this positive figure masks a decline in aid volumes since early 2026, failing to recover to pre-conflict levels before the onset of the US and Israel-Iran war in late February, and never meeting the minimum requirements set by the UN. In December 2025, four UN agencies warned that famine, which had been momentarily averted by the ceasefire, could swiftly return without consistent access and supplies. On February 28, 2026, as Israeli-US military activities against Iran commenced, Israeli authorities closed all crossings into Gaza. Weekly truck deliveries plummeted from an average of 4,200 to just 590, according to US military figures cited by Haaretz. The Kerem Shalom crossing partially reopened on March 3 due to reported US interventions, with Kerem Shalom and Zikim now being the only functioning entry points for humanitarian and commercial goods. In the first 11 days of May, only half of the aid trucks from Egypt were permitted to unload at Israeli-controlled crossings. The influx of commercial trucks into Gaza has increased, with 789 private trucks passing through between May 4 and 10, as reported by OCHA. However, total aid deliveries remain below levels seen before February 28, falling drastically short of the needs of Gaza’s population. According to OCHA’s May 1 situation report, aid organizations reached around 197,000 families with food parcels in April, providing 75 percent of the minimum daily caloric needs—an improvement from March, where rations only satisfied half of those needs. Nonetheless, the total daily meals served have declined since late March, with many organizations scaling back direct food distribution, as informed by OCHA. The World Food Programme has indicated that households in Gaza were consuming smaller portions in early April compared to March, with many families resorting to vegetables, fruit, or protein just once a week or less. Due to a shortage of cooking gas, 68 percent of families have begun burning waste for cooking, an increase of 13 percent since March. As of February 5, none of Gaza’s 37 hospitals were fully operational, and only 19 were partially functioning, according to OCHA. Over 43,000 individuals have sustained life-altering injuries, with one in four being children. More than 50,000 require long-term rehabilitation care, as estimated by the WHO. No rehabilitation facility is fully functional, and Israeli delays in approving essential surgical equipment are restricting complex care. Approximately 46 percent of necessary medicines are out of stock, as per WHO data. Restrictions by Israeli authorities on the import of generators, engine oil, and spare parts are contributing to the breakdown of health care, sanitation, debris removal, and humanitarian efforts, according to OCHA. The spread of rodents and insects in displacement camps has led to an increase in skin infections and other illnesses, as reported by OCHA. Additionally, ongoing warnings from UN agencies and aid organizations concerning water and sanitation issues indicate that insufficient supplies of lubricant oil and spare parts are causing generator failures. In Khan Younis, sewage pumping stations have ceased to operate, causing untreated waste to inundate residential streets. Across Gaza, more than 200 water and sanitation facilities have relied on backup generators for over two and a half years, often using recycled oil. On April 6, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli troops shot at a WHO vehicle in eastern Khan Younis, resulting in the death of a contractor and injuries to several others. In turn, WHO halted medical evacuations via Rafah for six days. By late April, OCHA had documented the deaths of at least 593 aid workers in Gaza since October 2023, with eight fatalities following the ceasefire. Airstrikes resulted in the loss of an aid worker at a water facility in Gaza City on April 20 and another for the NGO Ard El Insan on April 26, leading to the suspension of critical services. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that over 1,400 patients have died waiting for medical evacuation since the Rafah crossing was taken in May 2024, with more than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, still awaiting evacuation. The NGO Gisha has highlighted that Israeli authorities have consistently blocked access for Gaza patients in hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 2023, although limited access for treatment abroad facilitated through Israeli territory has occurred since July 2024. Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have moved the "Yellow Line", which demarcates Israeli territorial claims within Gaza, farther west beyond its designated borders. They have established at least 32 outposts and appear to be constructing a permanent ground barrier, based on satellite imagery analysis published by Haaretz. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded at least 167 Palestinian deaths near this line between October 11 and January 21, including 26 children and 17 women. The head of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza noted that as the line shifts westward, it is consuming water points and health facilities. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 127 of its facilities are now situated behind the line or in regions requiring Israeli approval for access. Since March 2025, Israeli officials have barred the agency from delivering humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza. The Comprehensive Plan incorporates commitments by Israel that remain unmet, including the augmentation of humanitarian support. Human Rights Watch has expressed prior concerns regarding other aspects of the plan, notably the creation of a Board of Peace without Palestinian representation. During the Board of Peace’s initial meeting in February, ten member states and observers committed a total of US$17 billion for reconstruction, against UN estimates of $70 billion needed. As of April, the Board had received less than $1 billion of the pledged sum, with only three contributors having provided funds, according to Reuters. As the occupying power, Israel is mandated under international humanitarian law to guarantee civilian access to food, water, medical care, and essential supplies, while facilitating the rapid and unrestricted transport of humanitarian relief. Starving civilians as a tactic of warfare is classified as a war crime under the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC). Deliberately establishing conditions of life calculated to result in the physical destruction of a population constitutes genocide under the Genocide Convention. Human Rights Watch reported in December 2023 that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. They later issued a report in December 2024, asserting that Israel’s intentional deprivation of water constituted the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide. The organization urged Israeli authorities to immediately fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law, ensuring the unobstructed flow of humanitarian aid through all crossings, lifting unlawful restrictions on UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations, and guaranteeing the safety of aid personnel. Governments should halt arms transfers to the Israeli government, impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials involved in serious abuses, suspend preferential trade agreements with Israel, and enhance accountability by supporting the International Court of Justice and the ICC. “When the Board of Peace briefs the Security Council, members should assess what they hear against reports from UN agencies on the ground,” Coogle stressed. “No narrative can disguise the reality that aid is not entering at the necessary scale, patients lack proper medical care, and crossings into Gaza remain severely limited.” For more detailed insights, you can visit [Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/) and [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/). You can also explore related topics on our site: [Gaza Civilian Casualties](https://www.globemigrant.com/gaza-civilian-casualties) and [Israel Aid Restrictions](https://www.globemigrant.com/israel-aid-restrictions). Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/19/gaza-israel-curbs-aid-kills-civilians-during-ceasefire

No Result