October 31, 2024 Middle East war news

October 31, 2024 Middle East war news

The amount of aid entering Gaza has sunk to the lowest level since Israel’s war in the enclave started, UN data shows.

Only 836 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip so far this month, according to data collected by the UN’s humanitarian aid agency OCHA.

Before the war, 500 trucks of aid and trade would enter the strip on average on a daily basis.

Figures released by COGAT, the Israeli agency that coordinates aid into Gaza, show that dozens of aid trucks enter Gaza daily, but hundreds wait “for collection” inside the territory. On Wednesday, for example, it said on its X account that 670 aid trucks were “waiting for collection,” without specifying the cause of the hold-up.

So far in October, 24,000 tons of aid entered Gaza compared to the year’s high of 137,000 tons in April, according to COGAT.

Some background: Aid figures provided by the UN and COGAT often differ, mainly because they count relief trucks differently.

Israel counts trucks arriving at its crossings for inspection and entry, while UN agencies count trucks inside Gaza that arrive for distribution.

Wednesday’s figures come after the Biden administration sent a letter to the Israeli government earlier this month demanding it act to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days or risk violating US laws governing foreign assistance, suggesting US military aid could be in jeopardy .