Israel has shut down crossings into northern Gaza, cutting off the primary route for delivering aid to hundreds of thousands of people facing the threat of famine. Meanwhile, continued airstrikes and shelling have resulted in dozens more deaths across the already ravaged Palestinian region.
The closure of the crossings on Thursday is likely to intensify international diplomatic pressure on Israel, as global focus shifts from its brief confrontation with Iran back to the ongoing violence and worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
In the 12 days of Israel’s conflict with Iran, over 800 Palestinians lost their lives in Gaza—many of them either shot while desperately searching for food in increasingly lawless conditions or killed by relentless Israeli strikes and shelling, the Guardian reported.
On Thursday, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a vocal critic of Israel’s actions, became the most high-profile European leader to label the situation in Gaza as a “genocide.”
Speaking before an EU summit in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referenced a European Union report that pointed to “indications” Israel was violating its human rights commitments under a cooperation agreement that underpins trade relations.
The report highlighted several concerns, including Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a high number of civilian deaths, attacks on journalists, and the widespread displacement and destruction resulting from the war.
Israel has strongly rejected accusations of war crimes and genocide, dismissing them as rooted in anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism.
Meanwhile, Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence agency, reported that Israeli forces killed 56 people on Thursday alone, including six individuals who were waiting for food in two separate places.
While there has been no independent verification of the claims, medical records from field hospitals operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGOs, reviewed by The Guardian, document hundreds of bullet-related injuries among civilians attempting to access aid over the past two weeks. Eyewitnesses have also reported deadly gunfire from Israeli forces.
The Israeli military stated that troops had fired “warning shots” to prevent “suspects from approaching them” near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza—a location where Palestinians frequently gather at night, often trying to intercept incoming aid trucks.
Food supplies in Gaza have become dangerously scarce due to Israel’s strict blockade on all goods throughout March and April, placing much of the population of 2.3 million at “critical risk of famine.”
Although Israel partially eased the blockade last month, the United Nations has struggled to deliver aid. Relief efforts have been hampered by blocked and damaged roads, military restrictions, ongoing airstrikes, and increasing lawlessness on the ground.
Delivering aid to northern Gaza—where the humanitarian need is most urgent—has been especially difficult. That changed recently when Israel opened the Zikim crossing, enabling direct transport of wheat and other essentials to the area.
Humanitarian officials in Gaza described the closure as “very problematic,” warning that it would significantly disrupt food distribution efforts.
Meanwhile, new food distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—a secretive organization backed by the U.S. and Israel—are located in central and southern Gaza, making them inaccessible to the majority of the estimated one million people still in the north.
Israel's decision to shut the northern crossings followed the circulation of a video on social media showing armed men escorting an aid shipment. Right-wing critics of Prime Minister Netanyahu alleged the men were Hamas members. However, aid workers and local sources in Gaza said the guards were affiliated with a council of community leaders, who had organized protection for the aid convoy to ensure it reached civilians safely.
The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which speaks for powerful clans in Gaza, stated that the armed guards seen accompanying the aid convoy were arranged entirely through tribal initiatives, without any involvement from Palestinian factions such as Hamas.
A representative of the Commission, Abu Salman Al Moghani, explained that local clans had stepped in to protect the aid from looters and others trying to take supplies meant for the broader population, emphasizing that their goal was to ensure food reached those in need.
According to Israeli authorities, 79 aid trucks carrying food for children, medical supplies, and other essentials were allowed into Gaza on Monday after passing strict security checks. The number of trucks admitted on Tuesday was reported to be 71.
The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that it had managed to deliver its first medical supplies to Gaza since March 2, but noted that the nine truckloads were vastly insufficient, describing them as “a drop in the ocean” compared to the scale of need.
The WHO also reported last week that only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remained even minimally or partially operational, with the rest completely out of service.
Israel's ongoing military campaign was launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, during which approximately 1,200 people—mostly civilians—were killed, and 251 were taken hostage. As of now, 49 hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half confirmed to be alive.
The total number of deaths in Gaza since the conflict began has risen to 56,259, the majority of them civilians.