Gaza food imports drop as Israel stops trader requests
Israel halted trader requests for Gaza food imports‚ cutting off a key supply route. Aid deliveries also face obstacles‚ raising concerns about food shortages in the region. The situation has led to reduced shipments and difficulties in getting supplies to Gaza
Israel stopped taking requests from traders to bring food into Gaza about a year ago. This move cut off a route that gave Gaza more than half its food in the past six months.
Since 10/11/24‚ Gaza traders who brought in food from Israel and the West Bank cant use the system set up in spring by Cogat (the group that looks after aid and trade shipments). They also cant reach Cogat when they try to call.
This change made the flow of goods to Gaza the lowest since the war started. Between 10/1/24 and 10/16/24‚ only about 29 trucks a day came to Gaza with aid and trade goods. This is way less than the 175 trucks a day that came between May and September.
Some people think Israel stopped these shipments because they were worried Hamas was making money from them. But a Hamas speaker said they didnt steal food or use it to make money. They said they were trying to make sure aid got to people in Gaza.
The U.N. World Food Programme said that a new military action in north Gaza stopped all aid deliveries through north crossings for at least two weeks this month. This made it even harder to get food to people.
The situation is getting desperate . We have some non-perishable aid but theres virtually no fresh produce anymore. A kilo of onions is $15 in southern Gaza
Before the war‚ about 500 trucks a day came into Gaza with aid and trade goods like food building materials and farm supplies. Now‚ its much less.
The way traders could bring in goods changed a lot over time. They had to use different ways to ask for imports‚ and the rules got harder. By October‚ very few trade trucks were getting through.
Aid to Gaza comes in different ways‚ but its hard to get it there. The main way used to be through Egypt‚ but that got harder after Israel attacked Rafah. Then they tried going through Jordan and Israel‚ but new rules made that harder too.
Israel and the U.N. worked out some of these problems‚ but its still not easy to get aid to Gaza. In the first two weeks of October‚ only about two trucks a day brought aid from Jordan to Gaza. This is much less than before
