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First few aid trucks have entered Gaza after nearly 3 months of Israel’s blockade

Update Displaced Palestinians gather to collect portions of cooked food at a charity distribution in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Palestinians gather to collect portions of cooked food at a charity distribution in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 19 May 2025

First few aid trucks have entered Gaza after nearly 3 months of Israel’s blockade

Displaced Palestinians gather to collect portions of cooked food at a charity distribution in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip
  • The UN called it a “welcome development” but said far more aid is needed
  • UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said the first few trucks were a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”

TEL AVIV: The first few aid trucks have entered Gaza following nearly three months of Israel’s complete blockade of food, medicine and other supplies, Israel and the United Nations said Monday, as Israel acknowledged pressure from allies.
Five trucks carrying baby food and other desperately needed aid entered the territory of over 2 million Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT.
The UN called it a “welcome development” but said far more aid is needed. Food security experts last week warned of famine in Gaza. During the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March, some 600 aid trucks entered Gaza each day.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his decision to resume limited, “basic” aid to Gaza came after allies said they couldn’t support Israel’s renewed military offensive if there are “images of hunger” coming from the Palestinian territory.
The UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said the first few trucks were a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.” He said an additional four UN trucks were cleared to enter Gaza. Those trucks may enter tomorrow, according to COGAT.
Fletcher added that given the chaotic situation on the ground, the UN expects the aid could be looted or stolen, which has been a growing problem as the blockade continued and resources became increasingly scarce. He urged Israel to open multiple crossings in northern and southern Gaza to permit a regular flow of aid.
Israel over the weekend launched a new wave of air and ground operations across Gaza, and the army ordered the evacuation of its second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the 19-month war that left much of the area in ruins.
Israel says its offensive is a bid to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Netanyahu said Monday that Israel plans on “taking control of all of Gaza,” as well as establishing a new system to distribute aid that circumvents Hamas. He has said Israel also will encourage what he describes as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza’s population to other countries — something that Palestinians have rejected.
Netanyahu warns of a ‘red line’ on Gaza
The Trump administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions and blames Hamas for deaths in Gaza, though in recent days it has expressed growing concern over the hunger crisis.
President Donald Trump — who skipped Israel on his trip to the region last week — voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.”
Netanyahu said the situation was approaching a “red line” and a “dangerous point,” but it was not clear if he was referring to the crisis in Gaza or the potential loss of support from allies.
The video statement appeared aimed at pacifying anger in Netanyahu’s nationalist base at the decision to resume aid. Two far-right governing partners have pressed Netanyahu not to allow aid into Gaza.
At least one of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, appeared to be on board with the latest plan.
“No more raids and going in and out, but conquering, cleansing and remaining until Hamas is destroyed,” he said. “We are destroying what is still left of the strip, simply because everything there is one big city of terror.”
Netanyahu says ‘minimal’ aid to be let in
Aid into Gaza would be “minimal,” Netanyahu said, and would act as a bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza. A US-backed organization will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.
UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the plan, saying it won’t reach enough people and would weaponize aid in contravention of humanitarian principles. They have refused to take part.
According to aid officials familiar with the plan, it will involve setting up distribution points mostly in southern Gaza, forcing many Palestinians to move south once again. The recent ceasefire saw hundreds of thousands return to homes in the north.
The war has displaced around 90 percent of its population, most of them multiple times.
Palestinians say an Israeli undercover raid killed a militant
Israeli special forces disguised as displaced Palestinians meanwhile launched a rare ground raid into Khan Younis early Monday, according to local residents.
The forces killed Ahmed Sarhan, a leader in the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in a shootout, the group said. Palestinian witnesses said his wife and daughter were detained.
The forces drove in on a civilian vehicle and carried out the raid under cover from heavy airstrikes. At least five other people were killed, according to Nasser Hospital.
Also on Monday, an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed five people, including a woman and a girl, and wounded 18, mostly children, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
The Israeli military said it struck militants in what it described as a Hamas command center in Nuseirat.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.


Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi detention: UN

Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi detention: UN
Updated 8 sec ago

Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi detention: UN

Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi detention: UN
  • A total of 53 UN workers are still arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, according to the international body

NEW YORK: Twelve international United Nations employees who had been held by Yemen’s Houthis inside their compound flew out of the rebel-held capital on Wednesday, the UN said.
The Iran-backed Houthis raided the UN compound in the capital Sanaa last weekend, holding 20 staff, including 15 foreigners. Five Yemeni nationals were released on Sunday.
The rebels have harassed and detained UN staff and aid workers for years, accusing them of spying, but they have accelerated arrests since the start of the Gaza war.
“Earlier today, 12 UN international staff who were among those previously held in the UN compound in Yemen departed Sanaa on a UN Humanitarian Air Service flight,” said a statement released by UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres’s spokesperson.
Some of them will relocate to Amman, Jordan, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told a news conference, not ruling out further travel or a return to Yemen.
The three remaining staff are now “free to move or travel,” the UN said.
“We do intend to maintain some international staff in Sanaa,” Haq said.
Among the 15 detained was UNICEF’s representative in Yemen Peter Hawkins.
The Houthis, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, have frequently fired on Red Sea shipping and Israeli territory during the two-year Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has launched numerous retaliatory strikes, including a major attack in August that killed the Houthis’s premier and nearly half of his cabinet.
Rebel leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi accused detained UN employees of having a hand in the attack, without giving evidence. The UN has rejected the claim.
A total of 53 UN workers are still arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, according to the international body.
The rebels stormed UN offices in Sanaa on August 31, detaining more than 11 employees, it said.
A senior Houthi official told AFP the UN staff were suspected of spying for the United States and Israel.
In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was transferred from Sanaa to Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government.


US lawmakers demand answers about American-Palestinian teenager detained in Israel

US lawmakers demand answers about American-Palestinian teenager detained in Israel
Updated 16 min 12 sec ago

US lawmakers demand answers about American-Palestinian teenager detained in Israel

US lawmakers demand answers about American-Palestinian teenager detained in Israel
  • Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, has been held for 8 months since a raid on his family’s home in the occupied West Bank
  • Democratic senators and representatives write to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for action to secure release

LONDON: A group of Democratic lawmakers has written to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, demanding the immediate release of a 16-year-old Palestinian-American who has been held in Israeli military detention for eight months.

Mohammed Ibrahim was taken by Israeli forces in February during a raid on his family home near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The dual citizen, who was 15 when he was detained, is said to have lost a significant amount of weight and be suffering health problems.

In their letter, a copy of which was sent to the US ambassador to Israel, the 27 senators and representatives said they had “grave concern” about the treatment of Ibrahim, The Guardian newspaper reported.

“As we have been told repeatedly, ‘the Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad,’” the lawmakers wrote. “We share that view and urge you to fulfill this responsibility by engaging the Israeli government directly to secure the swift release of this American boy.”

They also demanded to know what efforts were being made by the US government to secure Ibrahim’s release, and gave officials until Nov. 3 to respond.

The letter was led by senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, and representatives Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost. The other signatories included senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Ibrahim was accused of throwing stones at Israeli settlers, an allegation he denies. He was originally held in the notorious Megiddo Prison, before being transferred to Ofer Prison.

In testimony provided to Defense for Children International — Palestine and published his week, the teenager described how Israeli soldiers bound his hands behind his back and blindfolded him during the arrest. He said they beat him with the butts of their rifles while he was being transported for interrogation.

He described the two meager meals he receives each day, including a breakfast comprising small pieces of bread and a spoonful of labneh, and a lunch consisting of a cup of rice, sausage and pieces of bread. In addition to his considerable weight loss, Ibrahim had also contracted scabies.

Israel has long been criticized for detaining children and prosecuting them through military courts. Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to Israeli military law, and are usually tried in military rather than civilian courts.


What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and peace

What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and peace
Updated 17 min 8 sec ago

What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and peace

What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and peace
  • Rejection of Lebanese President Aoun’s call for border and security talks dashes hopes of renewed dialogue
  • Analysts say the objectives of Lebanon and Israel remain irreconcilable as of now

LONDON: As the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza tenuously holds, attention is now shifting north to Lebanon. There, a proposal from President Joseph Aoun for talks to resolve long-standing disputes has been rejected by Israel.

With Israel still occupying five hilltops in Lebanon, airstrikes continuing in the south, and Hezbollah’s disarmament unresolved, the question looms: Are the two countries ready to bury the hatchet?

On Oct. 13, at the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit where US President Donald Trump unveiled the Gaza ceasefire deal, Aoun struck a conciliatory tone. “Today, the general atmosphere is one of compromise, and it is necessary to negotiate,” he said.

Citing the 2022 US- and UN-mediated maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Aoun said: “Lebanon negotiated in the past with Israel … What prevents repeating the same thing to find solutions to pending matters, especially that war did not lead to results?”

Israel’s response came about a week later. US envoy Tom Barrack conveyed Israel’s rejection of Aoun’s proposal, which called for a two-month halt to Israeli military operations, withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, and subsequent border and security talks.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat on Oct. 20 that the proposed negotiations had collapsed.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (right) meets with Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon. The Lebanese government now finds itself caught between US pressure to disarm Hezbollah and the militia’s firm refusal to do so. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office/Handout via REUTERS)

Barrack, writing on X the same day, warned that unless Lebanon disarms the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Israel “may act unilaterally — and the consequences would be grave.”

He added that several US-backed initiatives meant to nudge Lebanon toward peace “have stalled.”

The Lebanese government now finds itself caught between US pressure to disarm Hezbollah and the militia’s firm refusal to do so.

In late September, a year after Israel killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reaffirmed the group’s stance.

“We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” he said, vowing to “confront any project that serves Israel.”

Hezbollah supporters hold images of late former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and current leader Naim Qassem at a ceremony held by Hezbollah on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon on  September 27, 2025, to commemorate the first anniversary of Hassan Nasrallah's killing by Israel. (REUTERS)

Israel has already escalated its attacks, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah military sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has continued to launch sporadic attacks on Israel, though mostly in response to Israeli strikes.

Since October, Lebanon has accused Israel of carrying out multiple strikes in southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November last year.

On Oct. 17, UN experts said Israeli strikes were causing civilian casualties and “seriously undermining” Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah in the south.

These developments leave observers questioning whether Lebanon and Israel could ever achieve sustainable peace.

“In Lebanon, the idea of making peace with Israel has long been a taboo for many people,” David Wood, senior analyst on Lebanon at the International Crisis Group, told Arab News.

“Many Lebanese still resent Israel’s history of repeatedly occupying and attacking Lebanon, which stretches back decades. In addition, plenty in Lebanon denounce Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinians, especially in Gaza recently.”

That resentment is rooted in decades of conflict. Israel first invaded southern Lebanon in 1978 to drive out Palestinian militants and establish a buffer zone. A larger invasion followed in 1982, when Israeli forces reached Beirut and occupied much of the south until 2000.

File photo dated 20 March 1978 showing Israeli soldiers at the river Litani, South Lebanon, after the Israeli invasion of the south of Lebanon. (AFP)

Another war followed in the summer of 2006 after a Hezbollah cross-border raid, sparking a month-long conflict in which Israel invaded Lebanon.

New cycles of cross-border violence reignited on Oct. 8, 2023, after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel triggered Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza.

Cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel escalated in September last year, with Israeli airstrikes decimating Hezbollah’s leadership and killing around 4,000 of its fighters.

Hundreds of Lebanese civilians were also killed and towns and villages devastated. Israel reported the deaths of 75 soldiers and 45 civilians from Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks, sniper fire, and cross-border infiltrations.

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced on both sides of the border.

Although a ceasefire was reached in November last year, there have been repeated violations by both sides.

The Lebanese Army Command reported more than 4,500 Israeli breaches as of September this year. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has claimed one attack since the truce, AFP reported, although Israel accuses the militia of many more.

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Ej Jarmaq on October 20, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli actions have killed more than 270 people and wounded about 850 since the truce began. As of Oct. 9, the UN human rights office had verified 107 civilian deaths, including 16 children.

Even so, a number of Lebanese, tired of this cycle of violence, are starting to question the long-standing taboo on seeking peace.

“Some Lebanese do call for their country to reach a peace deal with Israel,” Wood said. “These people argue that Lebanon must prioritize its own national interest and avoid becoming entangled in conflict with Israel, as most recently happened following the Oct. 7 attacks.”

He added: “This week, a widely watched Lebanese talk show host — Marcel Ghanem — spoke of the need to break the taboo over Lebanon making peace with Israel.”

Others, however, see little room for optimism.

Lebanese economist and political adviser Nadim Shehadi believes Beirut should “pick up where it left off in the May 17, 1983, agreement,” which parliament annulled after Israel added conditions not in the original text.

That US-brokered deal sought to end hostilities and secure an Israeli withdrawal, contingent on a simultaneous Syrian pullout that never occurred at the time. The deal collapsed within a year amid Syrian opposition and internal divisions, and parliament annulled it in 1984.

“The Lebanese state should take the initiative,” Shehadi told Arab News. “At the moment, it is implementing an agreement it did not negotiate, for a war it did not participate in, and with conditions it cannot deliver.”

He added that the government’s position is “weak,” saying it “seems to be acting on behalf of Israel and the US.”

The November 2024 agreement between Lebanon and Israel mandates that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon and that Hezbollah retreat north of the Litani River within 60 days, with the Lebanese army deploying to the border region.

It also reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for an area in southern Lebanon free of armed forces other than the Lebanese army.

Shehadi argues that for now, “the maximum achievable under UNSCR 1701 is a ‘cessation of hostilities,’ not even a ceasefire — it is far below the minimum requirement, which is an end of state of war.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese security and political analyst Ali Rizk believes that direct talks between Lebanon and Israel “are out of the question.”

Indirect negotiations over land border demarcation — similar to the US-brokered maritime talks — are the most that can be expected as long as “Israel continues to occupy Lebanese territory and carry out nearly daily aggressions on Lebanon,” Rizk told Arab News.

Even if that changed, Rizk said, direct talks would remain unlikely. “The Shiites form the majority in Lebanon and at the same time would overwhelmingly reject such talks, owing to the fact that the Shiites have borne the brunt of Israeli aggressions, not least since Oct. 7, 2023.”

He added: “The assassination of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah makes it even more difficult, given how he was an icon for many Lebanese Shiites — and non-Shiites — and not just for Hezbollah members.”

Southern Lebanon has long been a Hezbollah stronghold and is predominantly Shiite, with smaller Christian and mixed communities found mainly along the coast and in certain enclaves.

“Given these realities, engaging directly with Israel will be a risky gamble that President Aoun will likely not be willing to take as this would alienate Lebanon’s largest religious sect,” said Rizk.

IN NUMBERS:

• 950 Projectiles fired from Israel into Lebanon since Nov. 27, 2024.

•100 Israeli airstrikes documented during the same period.

(Source: UNIFIL)

Recent reports suggest that Aoun and Berri are instead preparing for indirect negotiations, he added.

Indeed, Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the present course relies on representatives of the nations that brokered the November 2024 ceasefire.

Beirut-based policy expert Hussein Chokr said the two sides’ objectives remain “fundamentally irreconcilable.”

“A vast gap separates them, making negotiations unlikely unless Israel were to accept Lebanon’s conditions — an improbable scenario at present — or unless the Lebanese presidency were to yield to external pressure, risking a dangerous internal rupture,” he told Arab News.

Chokr said Lebanon views negotiations as a way to halt Israeli aggression and bring about its withdrawal.

He added that Israel has three goals: formal recognition, the dismantling of Hezbollah’s military capacity, and a peace process “on its own unilateral terms — one that does not aim for a just or balanced peace, but rather seeks to impose a new reality through force.”

“This is not peace; it is a demand for submission,” he added.

Chokr argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not seeking a just or reciprocal peace but rather aims to cement a new balance of power with Lebanon where Israel holds the upper hand, capitalizing on what he perceives as strategic gains after inflicting significant damage on Hezbollah.

“His implicit message to Lebanon is: accept peace on my terms or face continued devastation.”

Lebanon, by contrast, insists “any real peace with Israel must be comprehensive and just, anchored in the Arab Peace Initiative launched in Beirut in 2002,” Chokr said.

The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative offers normalization in exchange for Israel’s full withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in 1967 and a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders.

But the current Israeli administration “recognizes no such formula of land and rights in exchange for peace,” Chokr said. “It treats ‘peace’ as a concession it grants in return for the other side’s survival — peace in exchange for being spared destruction.”

He warned that entering talks aimed at disarming Hezbollah could deepen Lebanon’s internal divisions and push the country “into a dangerous internal spiral.”

Still, some observers see potential for limited progress.

Wood of the International Crisis Group said Lebanon “is more likely to reach some kind of limited security arrangement with Israel, rather than a deal for peace and full normalization.”

Aoun’s remarks on Oct. 13, he added, “referred to the need for Lebanon to address its immediate problems with Israel.”

“At present, they are Israel’s ongoing occupation and near-daily military attacks, which are directly denying the hopes of displaced Lebanese that they can start rebuilding their communities after the disastrous war.”
 

 


First domestic flight lands in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since war began

First domestic flight lands in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since war began
Updated 22 October 2025

First domestic flight lands in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since war began

First domestic flight lands in Sudan’s capital Khartoum since war began
  • It’s unclear how many airlines would use Khartoum airport

CAIRO: A domestic passenger flight landed at Khartoum International Airport in Sudan’s capital on Wednesday for the first time since the war broke out over two years ago, potentially marking the gradual reopening of air traffic.
Sudan’s media and culture ministry confirmed a Badr Airlines flight from Port Sudan landed. The airport previously received flights carrying Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan at least twice this year.
The army in March captured the airport from the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The war broke out when the military and the RSF turned against each other in a struggle for power. Although the military holds the capital, the RSF still controls parts of the western Darfur region and other areas.
The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced as many as 12 million others. Over 24 million people are facing acute food insecurity, UN says.
The RSF fired drones at the airport at dawn Tuesday but the military intercepted them, according to an army statement.
RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, later on Tuesday night threatened in a video speech that his forces would continue targeting the airport.
“Any airplane that takes off from any neighboring country, any airplane that is dropping supplies, bombing or killing, any drone that takes off from any airport, will be a legitimate target for us,” he said.
Burhan toured the airport on Tuesday ahead of its scheduled reopening and delivered a speech vowing to protect citizens from the RSF.
The Sudan Civil Aviation Authority this week confirmed that domestic flights would resume on Wednesday after necessary operational and technical procedures were completed, according to Sudan News Agency.
It’s unclear how many airlines would use Khartoum airport. Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment.


Maternal deaths in Gaza soar; UN warns effects of starvation, trauma will take ‘generations to heal’

Maternal deaths in Gaza soar; UN warns effects of starvation, trauma will take ‘generations to heal’
Updated 22 October 2025

Maternal deaths in Gaza soar; UN warns effects of starvation, trauma will take ‘generations to heal’

Maternal deaths in Gaza soar; UN warns effects of starvation, trauma will take ‘generations to heal’
  • Senior Population Fund official highlights ‘generational threats to health and development’ as 11,500 pregnant women face starvation and 1 in 3 pregnancies is ‘high-risk’
  • With most hospitals damaged or destroyed, 70% of babies are premature or low weight, newborns share incubators, and women give birth in rubble by the side of the road
  • Gender-based violence has soared in Gaza, and up to 70% of youths and 40% of adults are believed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder

NEW YORK CITY: The reproductive health crisis in Gaza and the West Bank will take “generations” to overcome, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday, citing soaring numbers of maternal deaths, mass malnutrition among pregnant women, and widespread psychological trauma affecting the youth of the territories.

Andrew Saberton, deputy executive director of the UN Population Fund, said after a visit to the region that the scale of the devastation women and girls face is “far worse than expected,” with critical services shattered and entire communities pushed beyond survival.

“Gaza has been flattened, mile upon mile of rubble and dust with few buildings left intact,” Saberton told reporters in New York. “This is not collateral damage and I cannot unsee what I saw. This is going to take generations to heal.”

Saberton painted a dire picture of the conditions for women and girls in Gaza, where one in four people are facing starvation, including 11,500 pregnant women, and 70 percent of newborns are now premature or of low birth weight. One in three pregnancies is considered high-risk.

“These are not isolated medical issues, these are generational threats to health and development,” he said.

Women are unable to access even the most basic menstrual hygiene products, Saberton added. Some resort to cutting up old pieces of cloth, supplies of which have themselves run out, while sheltering in tents or damaged buildings. The Population Fund estimates 700,000 women and girls require menstrual supplies.

With 94 percent of hospitals in Gaza damaged or destroyed, maternal deaths are increasing as a result of lack of drugs, equipment and fuel. Several newborns have to share each available incubator. Ambulance services are “basically non-existent” and some women are forced to give birth in rubble by the side of the road, Saberton said.

The fund delivered a small shipment of medical supplies, including incubators and fetal monitors, last week through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, but Saberton warned this was a “trickle” compared to what is needed.

It has more aid supplies ready for delivery at border crossings, including 200,000 menstrual pads, more incubators, hospital beds and hygiene kits, but access to Gaza remains heavily restricted.

“All crossings must be opened and all impediments removed to allow full, safe and sustained humanitarian access,” Saberton said.

There are an estimated 130 births every day in Gaza but most maternity wards have been destroyed or shut down. The Population Fund plans to help rebuild maternity hospitals, establish new emergency birthing centers, deploy networks of midwives, and provide post-partum kits and medications.

Meanwhile, gender-based violence has “soared” in Gaza, as it does in every conflict, Saberton said. He called for immediate investment in safe spaces and mental health services. The mental toll on the population is immense: up to 70 percent of youths and 40 percent of adults are believed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“This trauma will not be resolved in months or years. This will take generations,” Saberton said.

In the West Bank, he told how movement restrictions and military checkpoints continue to severely disrupt daily life, especially for the estimated 73,000 pregnant women in the territory.

“Pregnant women and their partners are often held for hours and then denied onward travel,” he said. “That can mean life-threatening consequences for both mother and child.”

The fund operates mobile clinics and has established 19 emergency centers to provide support for women unable to reach a hospital to give birth.

Saberton also underscored the wider human toll of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In Gaza, which has a population of 2.1 million people living in an area of just 363 sq. km, about 250,000 people have been killed or injured, which represents almost 12 percent of the total population.

“To put that in perspective, that would be like 39 million people in the United States dead or injured,” he said.

He also warned of an increase in the number of unsafe abortions as a result of lack of contraception, and said an estimated 170,000 people have urinary or reproductive tract infections, which are preventable and treatable under normal circumstances.

The Population Fund’s humanitarian appeal is currently only about one-third funded, Saberton said, after key donors, including the US, pulled back last year leaving critical gaps.

“Donors are stepping up again but the needs are huge,” he added. “If we don’t act quickly … it’s going to be too late.”

Saberton appealed for sustained international engagement with the crisis: “The world can no longer afford to turn away; not from Gaza and not from the West Bank.

“Women and girls’ lives must transcend mere survival. True peace must guarantee safety, support and agency for every woman and girl to heal and to live their lives in dignity.”