A rare look inside the Gaza Strip shows the challenges complicating a humanitarian crisis
Southern Gaza Strip — In a rare moment of access to the war-ravaged Palestinian territories, CBS News on Wednesday visited a key aid distribution center just inside the Gaza Strip, near Israel’s Karem Shalom border crossing. The Humanitarian crisis in Gaza after more than a year of the Israel-Hamas war remains to be said.
Israeli officials say on average about 200 trucks enter Gaza from Israel every day through Israel’s Kerem Shalom checkpoint, carrying urgently needed aid for Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict.
But one pressing question remains: Is the help reaching those who need it most?
At the distribution center, truck drivers and aid workers told CBS News about the fighting they face, including the looting of humanitarian supplies, which they say remains a significant problem in Gaza. The chaos and lawlessness in the region often prevents supplies from reaching their intended recipients.
“The aid doesn’t arrive because the gangs intercept it on the street,” said Mohammed Shehibar, a Palestinian logistics coordinator from Al-Rimal, a neighborhood in Gaza City, who spoke to us while supervising workers loading forklifts with fresh air Material loaded fruit.
He said that of the 100 trucks that left that site, “only 70 or 60 reached their destination.” The rest were looted, he said.
“The only guarantee that aid will be delivered safely is that there is some stability in Gaza,” he said. “They (the gangs) take up positions near the border… close to the (Israeli) army… and have no problems.”
International Aid organizations I also complained that it wasn’t enough Help invades the Gaza Strip.
Last Sunday on CBS News’ “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Cindy McCainthe head of the World Food Program, said her organization was only able to get two aid trucks across the border crossing in November.
“That’s not true,” said Colonel Abdullah Halabi, the head of Israel’s Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration. “In the last two weeks alone, by expanding our facilities around the Gaza Strip and at other border crossings, the humanitarian community has managed to transport an average of 200 trucks to the center and south of the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli officials insist that plenty of aid is flowing to Gaza. They highlight the difficulties in delivering aid in an active war zone and call for greater support from the international community to ensure safe passage and effective distribution within the area decimated enclave.
After the brutal attack by Hamas, Israel launched its military offensive in the Gaza Strip Oct 7, 2023in which around 1,200 people died. More than 100 hostages The documents seized by Hamas are still being held. Since then Start of the war in Gaza at least 44,580 Palestinians According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, they were killed and most of their residents were internally displaced.
During our visit, the danger was palpable and the sound of shelling echoed nearby. Aid truck drivers are risking their lives to navigate the dangerous conditions created by destroyed infrastructure and security threats in Gaza, highlighting the enormous challenges facing both aid agencies and civilians in the Gaza Strip.
However, there has been cautious hope recently, as reports suggest that ongoing negotiations over a deal to release hostages could lead to a temporary ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
If such an agreement were reached, distribution centers like the one on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing could soon be overwhelmed with additional supplies, providing a lifeline to those in need.
