Share and Follow

Key Points
  • No aid has yet reached civilians in Gaza despite Israel allowing a handful of deliveries after an 11-week blockade.
  • The UN aid chief has warned 14,000 babies are at risk of dying within 48 hours without urgent aid.
  • Australia and 22 other countries have demanded a full resumption of aid to avert mass starvation.
No aid has yet been distributed in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said a day after Israel allowed limited humanitarian deliveries to resume after an 11-week blockade on the Palestinian enclave, where experts warn famine now looms.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said four trucks of baby food were dropped off on the Palestinian side of the border on Tuesday AEST, and that a few dozen trucks of flour, medicine, nutrition supplies and other basic items have also entered Gaza.
“Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing and reload them separately once they secure our team’s access from inside the Gaza Strip,” Dujarric told reporters.

“Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to access the Kerem Shalom area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse.”

Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office in Geneva said Israel had given permission for about 100 aid trucks to enter Gaza.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the initial amount of aid approved by Israel was “a drop in the ocean”.
“There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them,” he told the BBC.
Israel has said its blockade is aimed in part at preventing Palestinian militants from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied doing so.

Earlier this week, Israel started an expanded ground assault on Gaza, aimed at destroying Hamas and seizing the entirety of Gaza, which has been devastated by an Israeli air and ground war since Hamas’ cross-border attack on Israel in October 2023.

International community again demands end to Gaza war, as Israel aims to conquer the strip image

How has the international community responded?

Australia has joined 22 international counterparts to demand Israel allow the full resumption of aid in Gaza to avoid widespread starvation.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament he, along with the leaders of France and Canada, were “horrified” by Israel’s military escalation, repeating calls for a ceasefire.
Earlier this week, the three nations had warned of “concrete actions” against Israel if it did not stop military operations in Gaza and lift restrictions on aid.
A day later, UK foreign minister David Lammy announced the suspension of negotiations over a new free trade deal with Israel, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellent, monstrous and extremist.

In addition to suspending trade talks, the UK government also summoned Israel’s ambassador and announced sanctions against a number of persons and groups in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over alleged violence against Palestinian residents.

A United States-backed group plans to start work in the Gaza Strip by the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave. But the UN says the plan is not impartial or neutral, and it will not be involved.
Malnutrition rates in the densely populated territory have risen during the Israeli blockade and could worsen if food shortages continue, a health official at the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said in Geneva.
Akihiro Seita, UNRWA director of health, said: “I have data until [the] end of April and it shows malnutrition on the rise.”
“And then the worry is that if the current food shortage continues, it will exponentially increase, and then get beyond our control.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
This flood-hit community needed a miracle to save its rodeo. It found one

This community hit by floods needed a miracle to save its rodeo – and it found one

It’s the annual rodeo that puts the small farming community of Stonehenge,…
Rows of bottled water.

Is Australia Likely to Ban Tap Water like France?

Residents in a small French town have been banned from drinking tap…
PM leads charm offensive as Wallabies clash with Fiji

Prime Minister takes on a friendly approach as Wallabies face off against Fiji

They are neighbours, friends and in many cases family, but now the…

PM denounces synagogue attack as police uncover additional incident

Victoria Police has not declared an arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue…
A Camp Mystic sign is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area in Hunt, Texas, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Flash floods in Texas claim the lives of 37 people, including 14 children.

The storm killed at least 37 people across the state, including 14…
TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 6: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY - MANDATORY CREDIT - 'IRANIAN LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT' - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes his first public appearance since the war with Israel by attending an Ashura ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on July 6, 2025. Khamenei, who did not join the previous three nights of Muharram mourning events held at his residence on Palestine Street, participated

Iran’s top leader appears in public for the first time since the beginning of Iran-Israel conflict

Khamenei’s absence during the war suggested heavy security for the Iranian leader,…
Desperate search for 27 missing girls after flood disaster

Search Intensifies for 27 Missing Girls Following Flood Catastrophe

At least 51 people, including 15 children, were killed, with most of…
Man hit by police car in Darlinghurst

Police car hits man during response to fight in Sydney

A 35-year-old man was hit after running onto William Street in Darlinghurst…