Commercial trucks choking off critical supplies, say NGOs

Aid shipments into southern Gaza are being squeezed out by commercial convoys, humanitarian organisations say, at a time when Israel's military push into Rafah has choked off supply routes critical to feeding hundreds of thousands of people.

- Emma Graham-Harrison

Deliveries of food, medicine and other aid into Gaza fell by twothirds after Israel began its ground operation on 7 May, UN figures have shown. But overall the number of trucks entering Gaza rose in May compared with April, according to Israeli officials.

Part of the reason for the stark difference in accounts of what supplies reached the territory is a rise in commercial shipments.

Last month the Israeli military lifted a ban on the sale of food to Gaza from Israel and the occupied West Bank, Reuters reported on Friday. Traders got the green light to resume buying fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy and other goods.

Inside Gaza, residents have said there is more food in markets but that prices are many times higher than before the war, and after months of fighting and displacement few people can afford to buy much.

A group of aid agencies warned that there was a "mirage of improved access", when efforts to feed people in Gaza were on the verge of collapse.