More aid supplies are arriving in Gaza again. Otherwise, people have little hope. Many people want to leave the country, but they have to pay a lot of money to do so.

Israeli ground troops gone, city largely destroyed: Gazans in Khan Yunis on April 8 Photo: Fatima Shbair/ap

They exist again. Bananas. Cucumbers. Chicken. Fresh food is available in Gaza's markets, at least for the moment. In recent days, many more aid shipments have been arriving in the Gaza Strip and, although the UN and Israel do not agree on the exact number of trucks that will arrive, one thing is certain: the effect is felt among the population.

Although prices are still much higher than before the war, they are falling again: while last week a kilo of bananas cost more than 10 euros, it is now around 6 euros.

“I hope it stays like this,” Bashir al-Ankah, who fled with his family from northern Gaza to Deir al-Balah, says by phone. Chris Whitman of the human rights organization Medico, who is in contact with its partner organizations in the Gaza Strip from Ramallah, stresses that it is too early to give the go-ahead: “Many people in Gaza are still hungry,” Whitman said. . “What is needed there is a consistent and sustainable aid program that is not hindered or controlled by Israel.”

Human rights NGOs have been warning of famine in Gaza for months. Figures from the CPI, the internationally recognized tool for identifying hunger crises, from March 2024 say: 1.5 million people are in the two highest levels of the famine warning system; There are especially many in northern Gaza, where Israel is currently located. For a few days only a few trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed through. Several deaths from starvation have already occurred, especially among younger children.

The change in Israeli policy on providing aid to the Gaza Strip came after pressure from the White House after seven aid workers from the aid organization World Central Kitchen were killed by Israeli fire. In a tense phone call, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must take immediate steps to protect civilian lives and allow the importation of food into the Gaza Strip.

Since then, the trucks have been moving, 95 percent of them passing through the southern border crossing. The first stop is the city of Rafah, where around one and a half million people, three-quarters of Gaza's population, seek refuge and live in a very small space.

The Israeli army has blocked many aid deliveries destined for the northern Gaza Strip in recent weeks. However, aid supplies have also been arriving in northern Gaza for a few days from a newly established crossing. However, Chris Whitman of Medico fears that deliveries could gradually reduce again and that in a few weeks the situation will return to the same as in March.

ceasefire agreement

The biggest uncertainty currently affecting the people of Gaza is the question of whether or not there will be an Israeli military offensive in Rafah. On the one hand, the withdrawal of a large part of the ground troops has raised hopes that an end to the war or at least an agreement for a ceasefire that could become a ceasefire is imminent. On the other hand, Gazans are aware of Israel's assurances that the withdrawal only serves to reorganize troops.

Since then, conflicting news has arrived: Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a video message that the date had been set for an offensive in Rafah. The Israeli military suspects that four Hamas battalions are stationed in the southern city and that Hamas leaders are hiding there.

It is possible that some of the Israeli hostages are also being held there. But shortly after Netanyahu's announcement, Defense Minister Joaw Gallant contradicted him: no date had been set.

International warnings about an offensive in Rafah are growing louder. The conflict between US President Biden and Netanyahu, which is increasingly being raised publicly, is likely to be especially important for the future of the war. The White House is firmly opposed to a broad offensive in Rafah. The Israeli evacuation plan is not viable.

Meanwhile, shortly after the Israeli withdrawal, thousands of Rafah residents returned to their hometown of Khan Yunis. The Israeli army completely withdrew from the southern city. The troops remaining in the Gaza Strip are now mainly ensuring the separation of the Gaza Strip into a northern zone and a southern zone.

For most people, the return to Khan Yunis was to check on their homes. For many, what they saw was a shock: About 55 percent of the buildings – about 45,000 in total – are said to be severely damaged or completely destroyed, according to satellite images by mapping experts Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, which the two trace the destruction from the beginning of the war.

The escape business

Parts of civil infrastructure, such as water pipes, are also rendered unusable. “Seeking shelter, some of those who have lost their homes are temporarily moving into currently vacant homes that do not belong to them,” Whitman reports. It remains to be seen whether the situation in Chan Junis is such that returnees can stay and live in their hometown.

The stated goal of the vast majority of Gazans remains to leave the war zone as quickly as possible. The border crossings with Israel and Egypt are closed, but according to several media outlets, anyone who can raise enough money will list a Cairo travel agency (the provider is the travel agency Hala Consulting and Tourism Service), allowing So in the end everyone will be closed. Despite the borders, you can leave for Egypt.

“Coordination fees” are the names of the money that the Egyptian bureaucracy must pay. And they are horrendous. It's between $5,000 and $6,000 per person that people have to raise to be on the list. If you want to go particularly fast, add a few thousand dollars.

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Many of those who want to leave the Gaza Strip are trying to raise the money they need through crowdfunding platforms. This usually happens through the American crowdfunding platform gofundme. They receive 2.9 percent of the donation amount.

Those who cannot collect the money are trapped in Rafah, like Mohammed Mousa, for example. His wife and four children are now in Cairo. At the moment there was not enough money for him. “I pray every day to be able to get out of here before a military offensive and to be with my family,” he writes, adding: “I can't stop crying.”

International journalists are still unable to travel to Gaza to see the situation there for themselves, apart from individual trips to the war zone organized by the Israeli military. In our column “Gaza Diary” That is why we are receiving voices from the Gaza Strip to get as close as possible. Sometimes the authors write their stories themselves, sometimes the protocols are based on telephone interviews.