EU: Gaza aid trucks fall drastically short of promised levels

Aid deliveries to Gaza remain significantly below expectations outlined in a recent EU-Israel agreement, according to a European Commission document shared with member states on August 6. 

The biweekly update, compiled by the Commission and the European External Action Service, provides an overview of the humanitarian aid situation in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Between July 31 and August 4, only 188 aid trucks were offloaded at Gaza’s crossing points, according to UN figures cited in the document. That figure is four times lower than the 800 trucks expected over five days under a deal negotiated by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Under the agreement, which has not been publicly detailed, approximately 160 trucks per day were to enter Gaza.

The United Nations has previously stated that a minimum of 500 to 600 trucks daily are necessary to prevent worsening starvation in the enclave.

Israel disputes the reported delivery numbers. According to the document, Israeli authorities claim that 737 trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings in the same period. However, "Israel includes commercial and GHF operations in its daily counting of trucks," the document states, referring to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a joint U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid mechanism.

While Israel has denied responsibility for the deepening humanitarian crisis, blaming the UN for distribution failures and alleging that Hamas regularly seizes aid, Brussels has previously criticised Israel over deadly incidents at four GHF-run aid sites.

The European Commission notes that Israel maintains many trucks are "waiting to be collected by partners for distribution, something that, according to the U.N., is still attributable to a poor security environment and other major impediments."

Fuel access into Gaza has slightly improved, according to the report. A total of 874,000 litres entered the territory between July 28 and August 4. Although this quantity is said to support "critical life-saving operations," it remains "not sufficient to allow all humanitarian operations to run."

Israel’s civil coordination body, COGAT, has pledged to raise fuel deliveries from 23 to 30 tankers per week. “If implemented, this would mark significant progress,” the EU document notes.

Still, the UN warned on August 5 that "much more fuel is needed daily to run life-saving and emergency operations" and added: "Current levels of fuel are only allowing the UN and its humanitarian partners to function at the bare minimum."

Three tankers entered Gaza City on August 4, the UN reported, earmarked for critical health, water, sanitation, and emergency communications systems.

The European Commission clarified that its numbers rely on UN-provided data, which it cannot independently verify.

"What we can say is that despite this partial progress, we are not where we would want to be in terms of the number of trucks being able to make their way to the destination," said Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen at a Brussels press conference.

"We do not have presence there, we rely on information from our partners, notably the UN," she added.

EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Hadja Lahbib has indicated her readiness to travel to Gaza. However, Israeli authorities last week barred Maciej Popowski, a senior EU civil servant involved in humanitarian aid, from entering the territory.

By Aghakazim Guliyev