Provision of Sustenance Arrives in Gaza Following Israeli Cessation of Hostilities
In the face of widespread famine and malnutrition affecting Gaza’s populace exceeding two million, Israel yielded to international exhortations over the weekend, declaring a daily “tactical pause” in hostilities within select regions.
On Monday, truckloads of provisions reached the famished inhabitants of Gaza after Israel pledged to facilitate secure aid corridors, although humanitarian organizations cautioned that significantly larger quantities were imperative to thwart starvation.
“For the first time, I received approximately five kilograms of flour, which I shared with my neighbor,” stated 37-year-old Jamil Safadi, who resides with his wife, six offspring, and ailing father in a tent adjacent to Al-Quds Hospital in Tel al-Hawa.
Vehicles transporting humanitarian aid awaited clearance to traverse from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip on July 28, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Safadi, who has risen before dawn for a fortnight in pursuit of sustenance, declared Monday as his inaugural triumph. Other Gaza residents were less fortunate; some lamented that aid convoys had been pilfered or that guards had discharged firearms at them proximal to US-supported aid centers.
“I witnessed the injured and deceased. People are compelled to make daily attempts to secure flour. What entered from Egypt was exceedingly limited,” expressed 33-year-old Amir al-Rash, still devoid of sustenance and residing within a tent.
Israel instituted a blockade on Gaza on March 2 after negotiations to prolong a six-week ceasefire disintegrated. No ingress was permitted into the territory until late May, when a modest flow of aid recommenced.
Presently, the Israeli defense ministry’s civil affairs agency asserts that the UN and aid organizations were able to collect 120 truckloads of aid on Sunday for distribution within Gaza, with further deliveries anticipated on Monday.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have commenced aerial dispatch of aid packages by parachute over Gaza, while Egypt has dispatched trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli checkpoint just inside Gaza.
Vehicles transporting humanitarian aid awaited clearance to traverse from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip on July 28, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cautiously endorsed Israel’s “humanitarian pauses” but cautioned that Gaza necessitated 500 to 600 trucks of essential food, medicine, and hygiene supplies daily.
“We anticipate that UNRWA will ultimately receive authorization to transport thousands of trucks laden with food, medicine, and hygiene supplies. These are presently stationed in Jordan and Egypt, awaiting approval,” the agency declared.
“Unfettered access to all crossings and inundating Gaza with aid is the sole means to avert further exacerbation of starvation among Gaza’s populace.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphatically refuted allegations that Israel is intentionally starving civilians as part of its protracted 21-month campaign to dismantle the Palestinian faction Hamas.
Military spokespersons advocate that the UN and aid organizations should swiftly capitalize on the cessation of hostilities and secure aid routes, urging them to retrieve and distribute aid delivered to Gaza’s border crossings.
Vehicles transporting humanitarian aid awaited clearance to traverse from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip on July 28, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
“An additional 180 trucks have entered Gaza and are presently awaiting collection and distribution, alongside hundreds more queued for UN retrieval,” stated COGAT, a defense ministry entity responsible for overseeing Palestinian affairs.
“Enhanced consistency in collection and distribution by UN agencies and international bodies equates to increased aid reaching those most in need within Gaza.”
UNRWA affirmed its readiness to escalate distribution efforts, with a workforce of 10,000 stationed within Gaza, poised for deliveries.
“According to our latest data, one in every five children within Gaza City is malnourished. Reports indicate additional child fatalities due to hunger, raising the death toll from starvation to over 100,” the statement conveyed.
Over the weekend, aid convoys commenced arrival from Egypt and Jordan, depositing their loads at distribution platforms within Gaza, awaiting retrieval by agencies operating within the conflict-ravaged territory.
Nonetheless, their numbers remain grossly inadequate, humanitarian organizations warn, calling for a definitive cessation of hostilities, the reopening of additional border crossings, and a comprehensive, sustained humanitarian initiative.
Field Hospital Caesarean Section
Negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas — facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States — have faltered, with Netanyahu resolutely committed to advancing the campaign to annihilate Hamas and liberate Israeli hostages detained within Gaza.
Gaza’s civil defense agency reported the demise of 16 individuals due to Israeli bombardments on Monday.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal indicated that the casualties included five individuals slain in an overnight assault on a residential edifice in the southern Gaza district of Al-Mawasi.
Among the deceased was a pregnant woman, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which disclosed that its teams salvaged the woman’s fetus by executing a Caesarean section within a field hospital.
The violence in Gaza unfolded against the backdrop of a United Nations assembly in New York, where France and Saudi Arabia will spearhead a diplomatic endeavor to rejuvenate the stagnant pursuit of a two-state peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians.
