Israeli authorities must stop using aid as a tool of war

Israeli authorities must respect international humanitarian law and uphold Israel’s responsibility as an occupying power, and end this inhumane blockade of the Strip. MSF also urges Israel’s allies, including the United States, to refrain from normalizing such actions and to act decisively to prevent Gaza from plunging further into devastation.

Ceasefire without an aid scale-up is contradictory

At a moment when the ceasefire should mean a scale-up of the humanitarian response, the Israeli authorities have brought the entry of all aid to a screeching halt. The last supplies MSF’s teams were able to get into Gaza were three trucks of mostly medical supplies on February 27. MSF had several trucks planned to cross into the Strip before the blockade as teams have been trying to scale up activities, especially in the north where people have been deprived of basic needs for months.

“Gaza is now left without entry of fuel,” Laaroussi said. “Our hands are tied, and with no supply pipeline it makes it even more difficult to assist the people of Gaza once our stocks run out. A ceasefire without scaling up humanitarian aid is contradictory.”

At the same time, the Israeli government’s suspension of electricity supply to the Strip has already forced the main water desalination plant in Khan Younis in southern Gaza to run on fuel. The plant has dropped its production from 17 million to 2.5 million liters per day. This decision to cut electricity will gradually severely impact the public water supply and people’s health.

Israeli authorities often reject essential supplies

Israel’s siege that started on October 9, 2023 left hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without power, food, or fuel, causing a humanitarian catastrophe. After 15 months of bombings, displacement, and disease outbreaks, aid efforts remained restricted by nontransparent mandatory pre-clearance requirements from Israeli authorities—and often rejection—of so-called dual-use items like scalpels, scissors, oxygen concentrators, desalination units, and generators. Even when items are approved for entry, the process takes a long time and continues to be complex and bureaucratic.

“Like all humanitarian organizations, MSF is forced to adapt to conditions imposed by Israeli authorities as part of a system designed to maintain the blockade of Gaza,” Laaroussi said. “Although more trucks have entered during the ceasefire, the Israel authorities’ goods entry system—systematically used to obstruct humanitarian aid—has made it impossible for us to scale up properly, even before this blockade.”