An overview of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza

The Israel-invoked tragedy that the Gaza Strip has been experiencing for many months is no longer a temporary humanitarian crisis that can be contained by limited emergency measures. Rather, it has turned into a comprehensive and ongoing humanitarian disaster, deepening day by day and affecting all the basic necessities of life for the civilian population. Amid ongoing military operations, severe restrictions on movement, and a near-total blockade on the entry of aid, more than two million people are suffering unprecedented deprivation that threatens their fundamental right to life and human dignity.

The consequences of this disaster are clearly evident in the scenes of mass displacement, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced to seek shelter in temporary tents or overcrowded shelters that lack the minimum conditions for safety and decent living. With the onset of winter, these fragile tents have become a stark reminder of the lack of basic necessities for human life, as they offer no protection from the bitter cold or heavy rains, nor do they provide the slightest degree of privacy or health protection, given the acute shortage of blankets, heating and winter clothing.

Systematic hunger and health collapse in Gaza

In parallel with the displacement, the suffering of the population is exacerbated by widespread hunger, malnutrition and the almost complete collapse of the health system, in a complex picture of a full-blown humanitarian disaster whose elements cannot be separated or treated as a temporary circumstance. These conditions are not the result of an emergency, but rather the direct result of systematic policies of closure, restrictions and prevention of aid access, as repeatedly confirmed by reports from the United Nations and international humanitarian organisations.

The people of Gaza face acute food insecurity, as access to food is no longer linked solely to poverty or lack of resources, but has become directly hostage to the obstruction of humanitarian aid. Despite Israeli pledges to allow up to 600 aid trucks to enter daily, data from the United Nations and non-governmental organisations indicate that these pledges have not been fulfilled. The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, explained that the average number of trucks entering the Strip over long periods ranged between 200 and 300 per day, before falling to only about 140 trucks in early December, a number that does not even come close to meeting minimum humanitarian needs.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), only 65% of the population of the Gaza Strip received food aid during November, leaving hundreds of thousands vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition. Although the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system declared in December that the famine had ended as a technical description, relief organisations warn that this declaration does not reflect the current humanitarian reality, as the effects of famine do not end with its classification, but rather its health, psychological and social repercussions continue for long periods.

Children and women: the most vulnerable groups

The most serious manifestations of these repercussions in Gaza are seen in children and women. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that two-thirds of children under the age of five in Gaza consumed only one or two of the eight basic food groups necessary for proper growth during October, often limited to cereals, bread or flour.

The organisation confirmed that around 320,000 children under the age of five remain at risk of acute malnutrition, a life-threatening form of nutritional deprivation that requires urgent and sustained medical intervention. The suffering of women is no less serious, especially pregnant and lactating women, who face severe deficiencies in essential nutrients, which directly affects their health and that of their foetuses and infants, increasing the risk of anaemia, low birth weight and long-term health complications.

Gaza’s food crisis coincides with the near-total collapse of the health sector, with hospitals and medical centres suffering from acute shortages of medicines, medical supplies and fuel, seriously limiting their ability to provide even the most basic treatment services. The destruction of infrastructure, lack of safe drinking water, and deterioration of sanitation networks have contributed to the spread of infectious diseases and increased health and environmental risks, especially in crowded displacement sites.

Drying up humanitarian work

This disaster is closely linked to the legal and administrative restrictions Israel has imposed on the work of humanitarian organisations. The European Union has called on the Israeli occupation government to amend the law on the registration of international non-governmental organisations, warning that it constitutes a serious obstacle to the continued work of these organisations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

A joint statement issued by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, and the Commissioner for Crisis Management emphasised that the continuation of these restrictions could force many humanitarian organisations to leave the region, leading to the cessation of life-saving aid, including food, medicine, water and shelter.

The statement noted that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating alarmingly, especially with the harsh winter and the collapse of basic infrastructure, warning that the continuation of the current restrictions undermines international efforts to limit the humanitarian catastrophe.

Featured image via the Canary