In two-and-a-half months, only 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza, a UK-based charity said, drawing attention to the dire situation in the Palestinian enclave.
"Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians," Oxfam said in a statement on Sunday.
"For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours," it said.
Oxfam said that it and other international humanitarian agencies have been "continually prevented" from delivering lifesaving aid in the North Gaza Governorate since Oct. 6 when Israel escalated its military siege of Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
"Thousands of people are estimated to still be cut off, but with humanitarian access blocked it's impossible to know exact numbers," it said. "At the beginning of December, humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza were receiving calls from vulnerable people trapped in homes and shelters that had completely run out of food and water."
A convoy of 11 trucks last month was initially held up at the holding point by the Israeli military at Jabalia, where some food was taken by starving civilians, the charity added.
"After the green light to proceed to the destination was received, the trucks were then stopped further on at a military checkpoint," it said, adding: "Soldiers forced the drivers to offload the aid in a militarised zone, which desperate civilians had no access to."
Since Oct. 7 last year, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 45,259 Palestinian deaths, including 17,492 children and 11,979 women, with 107,627 wounded, according to reports.
Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble.
Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, has been heavily targeted, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
