A Palestinian child waits to receive his portion of food a distribution point at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 12, 2025. Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP.
Jerusalem: Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity reported.
Air and ground attacks resumed across the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.
However, Israel has halted the entry of aid into Gaza since March 2, as the humanitarian crisis continues to grow amid ongoing military assaults.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue blocking aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.
"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement Wednesday.
"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."
Palestinians wait in front of a food distribution point to receive their portion, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 12, 2025. Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP.
Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Israeli military operations and the blockage of aid had transformed Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians.
"Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance," said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.
"With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care," she said.
The UN had warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.
"The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities," said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In a statement, OCHA said no supplies had reached the territory for a month and a half, and medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply.
ICJ hearings
Israel firmly controls the entry of vital international aid to Gaza.
On April 28, the International Court of Justice is set to open hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians.
The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that The Hague-based top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.
It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".
Although ICJ decisions are legally binding, the court has no concrete way of enforcing them. They increase the diplomatic pressure, however.
Israel continued to pound Gaza on Wednesday.
A pre-dawn air strike in Gaza City killed 11 people, including women and children, the civil defence agency said.
The renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,652 people in Gaza, the Gazan health ministry reported.