An op-ed by Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator, ActionAid Palestine
From the West Bank, where I live, Gaza feels both close and unreachable.
I speak to colleagues and partners there every day. I hear what is getting in, what is being blocked, and what that means for people trying to survive. At night, I can hear the bombs as I try to fall asleep.
As negotiations continue and the world waits for updates on ceasefire terms and political demands, one reality remains unchanged: humanitarian aid into Gaza is being restricted, and civilians are paying the price. Israel says it has committed to allowing 600 aid trucks into Gaza each day. But on the ground, this is not what is happening. The aid that does enter is inconsistent and tightly controlled, largely limited to basic food items and small amounts of medicine. The supplies needed to sustain life, fuel for generators, hospital equipment such as incubators, and materials to repair homes and critical infrastructure, like sewers, are still not getting through.
This is not a logistical failure. It is a system.
Gaza needs around 450 tonnes of flour each day just to maintain basic food production. Right now, only a fraction of that is entering through border checkpoints. Around 30 bakeries are still functioning across the entire strip, nowhere near enough for a population of more than two million people. For many families, even bread is no longer guaranteed.
Hospitals are being pushed beyond their limits. Without sufficient fuel and functioning equipment, generators fail. When they do, treatment is delayed or denied, with devastating consequences. Although the Rafah crossing has reopened for medical evacuations, only a limited number of patients are being allowed to leave. More than 20,000 people are still in urgent need of evacuation. Thousands more require medical care that is simply unavailable in Gaza. For the health system to recover, essential equipment and supplies must be allowed in. Patients are dying while waiting for care that should be routine. These are not isolated incidents; they are the predictable consequences of a system where essential supplies are restricted.
More than one million people are living in unsafe shelters and makeshift tents, in urgent need of durable housing solutions, including repairs to damaged homes and access to emergency shelter materials. According to OCHA, in half of all displacement sites across Gaza, people are suffering from skin diseases. In 80 percent of sites, rodents and pests are widespread. There is an urgent need for basic sanitation materials, including pest control.
Water is becoming one of the most critical concerns. With infrastructure destroyed and no materials allowed in to repair it, waste is accumulating, clean water is scarce, and disease is spreading. Families are living among sewage and debris, in conditions that would be considered uninhabitable anywhere else.
All of this is happening while violence continues. There are growing fears of a return to full-scale war in Gaza, alongside escalating conflict in Lebanon. In the West Bank, settler violence is increasing at an alarming rate. Even moments of religious significance, including Easter in Jerusalem, have been marked by violence.
Across all of this, one thing is clear: humanitarian access is being used as leverage.
Aid should never be conditional. It should not be restricted, delayed, or negotiated as part of a political or military strategy. International humanitarian law is clear: civilians must be protected, and humanitarian assistance must reach those who need it. But what we are seeing is the opposite. This is not just about the volume of aid entering Gaza. It is about what is being deliberately kept out. Without fuel, hospitals cannot function. Without construction materials, homes cannot be rebuilt. Without equipment, infrastructure cannot be repaired. What remains is a population trapped in a cycle of survival, unable to recover.
This is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices.
As long as the system of control over Gaza remains in place, humanitarian aid will continue to be constrained, and any progress will remain fragile and reversible. A temporary increase in supplies cannot substitute for meaningful change. There must be an immediate and sustained lifting of restrictions on humanitarian access, not only in scale, but in scope. That means allowing in the full range of supplies needed for people to live with dignity, not just survive. But as we have seen before, aid alone is not enough.
Without addressing the underlying system that restricts Palestinian life, any improvement will be temporary. Palestinians do not just need access to aid. They need freedom, accountability, and the ability to rebuild their lives without constraint. Until then, Gaza will remain trapped in a crisis that is entirely preventable.
