Gaza's ailing children 'desperately waiting for help' despite ceasefire

GAZA, Oct 16: Days after the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged territory remains heavily restricted, denying many residents, particularly ailing children, the life-saving help they acutely need.

As of Thursday, fewer than 300 trucks are entering Gaza, instead of the 600 trucks necessary to deliver humanitarian aid. And of the 300 trucks being allowed to enter daily, Al Jazeera has learned that many carry commercial products instead of humanitarian aid.

Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said: "Children don't have anything. They need clothes, shoes, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and nothing is going to be delivered to the population until they have good stock in the warehouses, so that's why we're not seeing any distributions happening on the ground now.
"What is entering are the commercial trucks and things that are being sold in the market. But again, Palestinians do not have the ability to buy these items. Gaza residents do not have money. Banks did not open yet," she added.

At the Patient's Friends Benevolent Society (PFBS) hospital in Gaza City, doctors describe the situation of some malnourished children as "desperate", with the medical facility running out of medicine and food, as well as fuel to keep the facility functioning.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told AFP on Wednesday that Israel should immediately open crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid, stressing the urgency of the situation after two years of war.

"We rely on all the crossings to get our aid in... we want all of those crossings open and we want completely unimpeded access," Fletcher said in an interview in Cairo.

"It should happen now. We want it to happen immediately as part of this agreement," he added, referring to the deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, sponsored by US President Donald Trump.

"That's part of the discussions that we've had in Sharm el-Sheikh," Fletcher said, adding that the US president and other world leaders "were unequivocal that we must be allowed to deliver aid at massive scale". �"AL JAZEERA, AFP