As famine tightens its grip on Gaza, Israel's recent push to allow small trickles of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave is being widely viewed by Palestinians and observers as a calculated move to deflect international criticism while continuing its military campaign.
Far from alleviating the crisis, the limited aid convoys and air drops have plunged the population deeper into chaos and a struggle not only for food, but for survival.
On Sunday, 73 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, a figure touted by Israeli authorities as proof of their commitment to humanitarian obligations.
Yet the trucks, which crossed through Kerem Shalom in the south and Zikim in the north, ignited scenes of desperation and disorder.
As word spread of their arrival, hundreds of residents [starving and exhausted] stormed the convoys in a frenzy to obtain whatever food they could.
"I swear, we weren't stealing. We were dying of hunger. My children hadn't eaten in two days. When I saw the truck, I ran after it, hoping to find a bag of flour or sardines. But armed men got there first. Everything was looted before our eyes," Mohammed Abu Merea, a father of four from northern Gaza, told The New Arab.
Abu Merea is not alone in his desperation. Across the war-torn coastal enclave, the aid deliveries, far from being a sign of relief, have instead underscored the total collapse of public order under the weight of ten months of war, siege, and economic ruin.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Gaza is on the brink of "complete societal collapse." In the streets, that collapse is already visible.
Humanitarian pause?
In tandem with the limited aid entry, the Israeli army announced on Sunday what it called a "daily tactical pause" in military operations in Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and parts of Gaza City, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., purportedly to facilitate aid delivery.
The army also claimed to have opened "secure corridors" from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. to allow the movement of relief convoys and medical assistance.
But even as the announcement was made, Israeli strikes resumed across the Strip.
On Sunday, over 60 Palestinians were killed in air and artillery attacks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. On Monday morning, an additional 41 deaths were recorded, including eight civilians waiting near an aid point along Salah al-Din Street and a baby who died of hunger in Khan Yunis. Homes, shelters, and tent camps were also targeted in Gaza City, the north, and the central area of Deir al-Balah.
Reham Owda, a political analyst from Gaza, said Israel's decision to implement a limited daily humanitarian truce is primarily aimed at easing mounting international criticism accusing it of weaponising starvation against civilians.
She added that Israel also seeks to avoid potential European sanctions if it continues obstructing the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
According to the Health Ministry, 14 people have died in the last 24 hours alone from malnutrition, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths to at least 147—including more than 90 children. And those are only documented cases.
At the heart of the crisis is what many officials in Gaza describe as an engineered policy of chaos and starvation. The Government Media Office accused Israel of deliberately creating conditions in which insufficient aid deliveries ignite violence and competition among civilians.
"What is happening at the crossings and through airdrops cannot be described as humanitarian aid. Israel is manufacturing a scene of desperation, a kind of humanitarian theatre where starving people are forced to fight over a few supplies, all under the surveillance of drones," the media office said in a press statement.
The chaos was palpable on Salah al-Din Street on Sunday, when one of the convoys was ambushed by desperate residents before reaching its intended distribution site.
Local eyewitnesses told TNA that they saw men wielding sticks, and even kitchen knives, while barefoot children chased the trucks in a desperate attempt to grab something, anything, edible.
Alaa Saber, a 42-year-old father who lost his home in Khan Younis, described the horror. "I'm not a thief. But my daughter is drinking salt water, and her sister's stomach is swollen from hunger. I took a bag of sugar and ran. An hour later, the army bombed the area," he told TNA.
In parallel to the land convoys, the Israeli military coordinated an airdrop of aid in the north on Saturday night and into Sunday, in cooperation with international organisations.
Seven pallets of flour, sugar, and canned food were dropped in areas such as Al-Sudaniya, the vicinity of Hamad Hospital, Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City and some places in Khan Yunis city in the south of Gaza.
But local eyewitnesses say the aid mostly landed in or near red zones, areas designated by Israel itself as high-risk combat zones.
Ahmed Moammar, a relief coordinator working with a local NGO, said the drops only worsened the crisis. "It's absurd. You drop food where civilians can't safely go. Are we asking people to die trying to retrieve a bag of flour?"
"This is not aid. It's a spectacle. What we need is protected humanitarian corridors, not empty displays of compassion," he added.
A fatal lie
For Gaza's residents, the issue isn't just the lack of aid, it's the silence of the international community in the face of what they describe as a deliberate strategy of collective punishment.
Since March, Israel has completely shut down all main border crossings, including Rafah, leaving international agencies unable to replenish supplies.
United Nations warehouses are empty, and relief convoys require complicated coordination with Israeli authorities, who regularly block or delay access.
Palestinian analysts place the blame not just on Israel, but on its allies.
"This is not only Israel's crime. The United States, Britain, Germany, and others are complicit. Their political support enables this famine. And their silence makes them partners in starvation," Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based political analyst, told TNA.
"The impact on Gaza's civilians is catastrophic. Children are dying of preventable causes. Hospitals lack electricity, medical supplies, and baby formulas. Cancer patients, diabetics, and the elderly are perishing quietly in tents and makeshift shelters, and none of the international community has helped them," he said.