Limited aid reaches Gaza under ceasefire as prisoner swaps proceed
Shafaq News – Gaza
Only 986 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the ceasefire began, the enclave’s Government Media Office said on Tuesday, far short of the 6,600 that were expected under the truce agreement.
In a statement, the office said the daily average stood at 89 trucks, compared with the 600 that should enter each day. Among the deliveries were 14 trucks carrying cooking gas and 28 carrying diesel fuel.
“The quantities do not meet the minimum humanitarian and living needs,” the statement warned, accusing Israel of maintaining a “policy of strangulation and collective punishment” against Gaza’s 2.4 million residents. It renewed the call for a regular flow of at least 600 trucks daily, including food, medical supplies, fuel, and cooking gas, “to sustain the bare minimum conditions for life.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) said the supplies entering Gaza since the truce took effect are enough to feed around 500,000 people for two weeks, stressing that deliveries remain “far below the required level.” While limited convoys have reached northern Gaza, the agency said they are insufficient to address widespread shorta
Israeli forces resumed allowing aid through Kerem Shalom in the south and Kissufim in central Gaza on Monday, after a brief halt and heavy airstrikes the previous day. However, the Rafah crossing with Egypt remains closed, blocking the evacuation of wounded patients, the return of stranded Palestinians, and additional aid shipments.
WFP reported that about one-third of Gaza’s families go without food for days, while thousands continue to queue at community kitchens in search of basic items such as meat and poultry, which have been largely banned from entry for months.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that 39% of Gaza’s population spend days without food. It said 320,000 children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition, while 290,000 young children and 150,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women urgently need nutritional supplements.
Gaza health authorities said that since the start of Israel’s war on the enclave on October 7, 2023, the blockade and widespread destruction have led to what they described as a “systematic policy of starvation,” which has already claimed 463 lives, including 157 children.
Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya voiced hope that the volume of aid entering the Strip will increase in the coming days.
The Health Ministry reported that the overall death toll from the Israeli offensive has risen to 68,229, with 170,369 wounded since October 2023.
Read more: Gaza’s forgotten wounded: A society rebuilton crutches
Ceasefire And Prisoner Exchange
The ministry confirmed that the Nasser Medical Complex received the bodies of 15 Palestinians—the sixth batch of detainees returned by Israel under the current ceasefire agreement. Two days earlier, another 15 bodies were transferred in the fifth batch.
Since the start of the truce on October 10, Israel has handed over the remains of 165 Palestinian prisoners who died in detention.
Preliminary medical examinations, the ministry said, showed that several bodies bore signs of physical abuse, bound hands, and blindfolded eyes, while others had gunshot wounds to the head and chest. The identities of 25 victims have so far been confirmed.
Due to the lack of forensic facilities, Gaza’s medical teams rely on visual identification—such as clothing or body features—and are storing the remains in refrigerated trucks provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, Hamas said it released 20 Israeli captives alive on October 13 in exchange for the release of about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Al-Hayya said efforts were continuing to recover the remains of all Israeli prisoners, despite operational difficulties.
Diplomatic Moves
Israel’s public broadcaster reported that US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for a two-day visit. His trip follows the arrival of US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, who met with Israelis freed under the US- and Egypt-brokered prisoner exchange deal.
According to Cairo News Channel, Egypt’s General Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel also arrived in Israel to discuss mechanisms for consolidating the ceasefire and ensuring the implementation of the exchange agreement.
