Gaza, March 5, 2025: Israel’s blockade on food, fuel, and medicine in Gaza has sent prices soaring and left humanitarian organizations scrambling to manage dwindling supplies for the 2 million residents of the besieged enclave.
The aid cutoff has jeopardized the fragile progress made by relief workers over the past six weeks during Phase 1 of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, raising fears of widespread famine.
After more than 16 months of war, Gaza’s population is entirely dependent on trucked-in aid for survival. Most residents are displaced, lacking shelter, while fuel shortages threaten the operation of hospitals, water pumps, bakeries, telecommunications, and the trucks delivering aid.
Israel says the blockade is intended to pressure Hamas into accepting its spinoff cease-fire proposal, delaying the transition to Phase 2 of the agreement, which was meant to ensure a steady flow of aid.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that he was prepared to increase pressure and would not rule out cutting off all electricity to Gaza if Hamas did not comply. Rights groups have condemned the blockade as a ‘starvation policy.’
The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that there is no major stockpile of tents available to shelter displaced Palestinians. Shaina Low, a communications adviser for the organization, said the aid delivered during Phase 1 was insufficient to meet the population’s needs.
“If it was enough, we wouldn’t have had infants dying from exposure due to a lack of shelter materials, warm clothing, and proper medical equipment,” she said.
During Phase 1 of the cease-fire, six infants died from hypothermia due to harsh winter conditions and inadequate humanitarian support.
Aid groups are now assessing what limited supplies they have left. Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s chief of communication, said relief organizations never stockpiled aid in Gaza, meaning reserves are dangerously low.
“We’re trying to figure out, what do we have? What would be the best use of our supply?” Crickx said, predicting a “catastrophic result” if the blockade continues.
During the cease-fire, humanitarian agencies had rushed in supplies and expanded their operations. Food kitchens, health centers, and water distribution points were set up, while increased fuel shipments allowed them to double the amount of water drawn from wells, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The U.N. and its partners also delivered around 100,000 tents as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians attempted to return home—only to find their houses destroyed or uninhabitable.
However, all these efforts were contingent on continued aid flow, which has now been cut off.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has 22,500 tents sitting in warehouses in Jordan, after trucks carrying them were forced to turn back when entry was blocked, said Karl Baker, the agency’s regional crisis coordinator.
Similarly, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has 6.7 tons (14,771 pounds) of medicines and medical supplies awaiting clearance, but deliveries are now “highly uncertain”, according to Bob Kitchen, IRC’s Vice President of Emergencies and Humanitarian Action.
“It’s imperative that aid access resumes immediately. With humanitarian needs at an all-time high, more aid is required, not less,” Kitchen said.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) reported that its trucks—carrying medicine, mattresses, and assistive devices for people with disabilities—are stuck at the border. MAP spokesperson Tess Pope said that while some medicine and materials remain in reserve, they are not enough to sustain a prolonged blockade.
The blockade has caused the price of basic necessities to skyrocket.
On Tuesday, the U.N.’s humanitarian office reported that the prices of vegetables and flour had doubled following the border closures.
In Gaza City, Sayed Mohamed al-Dairi described the crisis at the markets:
“The traders are massacring us. They are not merciful,” he said.
Sugar, which cost 5 shekels ($1.37) in the morning, surged to 10 shekels by the afternoon.
- A single cigarette, priced at 5 shekels before the blockade, now costs 20 shekels.
- One kilo of chicken (2.2 pounds) jumped from 21 shekels to 50 shekels.
- Cooking gas skyrocketed from 90 shekels for 12 kilos to a staggering 1,480 shekels.
Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, incursion into Israel, Israel imposed a total aid cutoff for two weeks. That blockade was a key focus of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It coincided with Israel’s most intense aerial bombardment of Gaza, described as one of the most aggressive military campaigns in modern history.
Now, with the cease-fire expiring and aid once again frozen, many Palestinians fear a return to those dark days.
Abeer Obeid, a Palestinian woman from northern Gaza, voiced those concerns:
“We are afraid that Netanyahu or Trump will launch a war even worse than the previous one,” she said.
She questioned the continued closure of the border crossings, which serve as Gaza’s lifeline.
“If they want to extend the truce, they must find another solution. Why are they cutting off aid?” she asked.
With humanitarian organizations warning of disaster and famine looming, the fate of millions of Palestinians now hangs in the balance.
