Khaberni - Humanitarian aid organizations have stated that the aid reaching Gaza is extremely scant amid ongoing hunger, the approaching winter season, and the deterioration of old tents, nearly four weeks after the ceasefire following the devastating two-year-long Israeli war.
The "World Food Programme," in a statement, said that only half of the required amount of food reaches the sector, while a group of Palestinian organizations claimed that the total volume of aid ranges between a quarter to a third of the expected quantity.
The United Nations, which used to publish daily figures about aid trucks crossing into Gaza earlier in the war, no longer routinely provides these numbers.
Since mid-October, the ceasefire and increased aid flow have led to some improvements, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The office stated that 10% of the children being examined in Gaza still suffer from severe malnutrition, down from 14% in September, with more than a thousand children suffering from the most severe forms of malnutrition.
The office added that half of the households in Gaza reported increased access to food, especially in the south, with more aid and commercial supplies entering after the truce. Households are averaging two meals a day now, up from just one meal a day during July.
It also noted that there remains a sharp gap between the south and the north, where conditions are still much worse.
As winter approaches, the people of Gaza need shelter. The tents have become worn out, and often the buildings that survived the war are exposed or unstable and dangerous.
Amjad al-Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGO Network, which coordinates with the United Nations said, "We are facing the winter month very soon, which means... rainwater and expected floods and a likely spread of many diseases due to the presence of hundreds of tons of waste near residential areas."
He added that only 25 to 30% of the expected amount of aid has entered Gaza so far.
Estimates suggest that 1.5 million people in Gaza need shelter.
