Israel's block on aid raises health fears for underfed population

Briefing the Israeli press after Benjamin Netanyahu’s order last Sunday to turn off the aid supply to Gaza - in an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without an Israeli troop withdrawal - government officials claimed the Palestinian territory had several months’ worth of food stockpiled from earlier deliveries.

- Julian Borger

However, the announcement led to an instant jump in prices of basic necessities in Gaza, with residents saying they had doubled.

The office of the Israeli prime minister said it was imposing a blockade on Gaza because Hamas would not accept a plan that it claimed had been put forward by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to extend phase one of the ceasefire and continue to release hostages, and postpone phase two, which envisaged an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, last Sunday called for Israel to end its suspension of humanitarian aid to Gaza “immediately”.

Aid agencies say the population of Gaza remains highly vulnerable and that the blockade of humanitarian supplies to a civilian population is unacceptable in any circumstances.

Oxfam said: “Israel’s decision, to block aid to over 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins, is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law. The government of Israel, as occupying power, has the responsibility to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach the population in Gaza.”