Food flows into Gaza still far below targets, says WFP

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday that supplies into Gaza were ramping up after the US-brokered ceasefire but were still far short of its daily target of 2,000 tonnes because only two crossings are open, and none to the famine-hit north of the enclave.

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Around 750 metric tonnes of food are now entering the Gaza Strip daily, according to the WFP, but this was still well below the scale of needs after two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas that has reduced much of Gaza to ruins.

“To be able to get to this scale-up, we have to use every border crossing point right now,” WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told a Geneva press briefing.

She said only two of the Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza were operational - Kerem Shalom in the south and Kissufim in the centre.

The ceasefire plan brokered by US President Donald Trump envisages “full aid” being sent into Gaza. An Israeli security official said that humanitarian aid continues to enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing and additional crossings in accordance with the plan, without naming them.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, with its reopening dependent on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages.