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Jerusalem, Dec 11 (AP) Aid deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the US-brokered ceasefire, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military's figures as humanitarian groups say the shortfall is severely impacting the strip's 2 million people.
Under the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day.
However, Israel's own figures suggest that an average of only 459 trucks a day have entered the Gaza Strip between October 12, when the flow of the aid restarted, and Sunday, according to an AP analysis. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry, provided the figures.
Aid flow does not meet ceasefire benchmark COGAT said that roughly 18,000 trucks of food aid had entered Gaza from when the ceasefire took effect until Sunday, amounting to 70 per cent of all aid that had entered the territory since the truce.
This means that COGAT estimates that including the rest of the aid -- items that are not food, such as tents and medicines -- a total of just over 25,700 trucks have entered Gaza. That is well under the 33,600 trucks that should have gone in by Sunday, under the terms of the ceasefire.
In response to the AP analysis, COGAT insisted Wednesday the number of trucks entering Gaza each day was above the 600 mark but refused to elaborate why the figures do not match or provide raw data on truck entry.
COGAT used to give daily figures of trucks entering Gaza during the war but stopped doing so when the ceasefire began. Rights groups say that is because it controls the crossings and has sole access to track how much aid and commercial goods are entering Gaza.
The United Nations and aid groups have often said the amount of aid entering Gaza is far lower than COGAT claims.
The UN says only 6,545 trucks have been offloaded at Gaza crossings between the ceasefire and December 7, amounting to about 113 trucks a day. That is according to its online database. The UN figures do not include aid trucks sent by organisations not working through the UN network.
A Hamas document on Saturday provided to the AP put the amount of total aid trucks that have entered since the truce at 7,333.
This week, the UN office for humanitarian affairs, known as OCHA, stressed a "dire" need for more aid for Gaza, saying Israeli restrictions on aid have bottlenecked recovery efforts.
Food remains scarce, aid groups say Humanitarian groups say lack of aid has had harsh effects on much of Gaza's residents, most of whom were forcibly displaced by war. Food remains scarce as the Palestinian territory struggles to bounce back from famine, which hit parts of Gaza during the war.
Starving mothers in Gaza are giving birth to malnourished babies, some of whom have died in hospital, according to a recent report by UNICEF. As winter rains pick up, displaced families living in tents have been left exposed to the elements and without supplies to cope with floods and the biting cold.
"Needs far outpace the humanitarian community's ability to respond, given persistent impediments," a UNICEF report said on Monday. "These obstacles include insecurity, customs clearance challenges, delays and denials of cargo at the crossings, and limited routes available for transporting humanitarian supplies within Gaza." Israel temporarily stopped all aid entry at least once in response to alleged Hamas violations of the truce. Israel said that Hamas has failed to return the bodies of the hostages in the time period established by the ceasefire, while Hamas has said it struggled to find the bodies due to the destruction left by Israel in the Palestinian territory.
Hamas has also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire terms because of the slow flow of aid, continued closure of the Rafah crossing and ongoing deadly strikes on Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza rely on firewood for warmth Since the US-brokered ceasefire began on October 10, the price for a 12-kilogram cylinder of cooking gas has shot up to 1,314 shekels (USD 406), about 18 times what it was before the war.
That has left many residents relying on firewood for both cooking and to stay warm as temperatures plunge ahead of winter, including the 23-member Abed family in the northern city of Jabaliya.
"We are living under the rubble and sleeping on torn sheets. We collect some firewood, and cut sponges to start a fire," Marwan Abed, 62, told the AP from under the crumbling concrete of his house. He said firewood is the only way "to keep the children warm" and to prepare coffee.
Dispute over remains of the final hostage Israel is demanding Palestinian militants return the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Wednesday that Gvili's return was a condition of moving to the second phase of the ceasefire.
"Once phase one is completed, phase two will begin," it said.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
