Gaza aid deliveries fall 37% after Israeli policy shift and renewed fighting

The United Nations and aid agencies say Gaza’s relief system has been squeezed by two pressures at once: Israel’s restrictions on aid entry and distribution, and renewed fighting that has made internal movement more dangerous. OCHA said Israeli authorities have blocked all humanitarian and commercial supplies from entering Gaza since March 2, while UNICEF said a third of UN-supported community kitchens shut over the previous 10 days after food stocks and fuel ran down. WHO says the health system remains severely degraded, with access for medical teams and supplies repeatedly disrupted. Activists also launched a new flotilla from Turkey this week, seeking to draw attention to the shortages after earlier attempts were intercepted. ### What changed after March 2? March 2 is the date OCHA, UNICEF and other U.N. agencies cite for the start of a full Israeli blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza. OCHA said humanitarian operations have since been “stifled” by the blockade, attacks on humanitarian facilities, movement restrictions inside Gaza and the expansion of Israeli military activity after March 18. (unocha.org) May 5 brought a public dispute over Israel’s proposed new aid system. OCHA said it rejected an Israeli plan to channel supplies through hubs operating under conditions set by the Israeli military, saying the proposal would leave vulnerable people without supplies and would drive civilians into militarized zones. Israeli officials, as reported by The Times of Israel, said the plan was intended to make it harder for Hamas to divert aid. (unocha.org) ### How much money is actually available? OCHA said on its Occupied Palestinian Territory page that, four months into 2026, just over 10% of the funding required for critical humanitarian operations that year had been secured. In its 2026 flash appeal, OCHA said humanitarian partners were seeking $4.06 billion to deliver urgent support across the occupied Palestinian territory. (timesofisrael.com) The funding gap has coincided with visible service cuts. UNICEF said children in Gaza face a growing risk of starvation, illness and death, and OCHA reported that one-third of U.N.-supported community kitchens had shut in 10 days because food supplies were depleted and fuel access was limited. ### What does this look like on the ground? (unocha.org) As of May 6, OCHA said more than 428,000 people had been displaced again since hostilities escalated on March 18, with no safe place to go. The agency said strikes on residential buildings and tents sheltering displaced people continued to be reported, along with detonation of buildings in Rafah and eastern Gaza City. (unocha.org) Over 75% of households in Gaza reported a decline in water access over the previous month, according to OCHA’s May update citing UNICEF. The same update said Gaza’s medical rehabilitation system was at a breaking point because of traumatic injuries, damaged infrastructure and shortages of specialists, supplies and equipment. (unocha.org) ### Why are hospitals and medical teams still struggling? WHO said only 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were operational as of its cited update, and many of those were functioning under severe supply shortages, insecurity and a surge of casualties. WHO also said 94% of hospitals in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed. (unocha.org) WHO described repeated access problems for its own teams. In one example, it said a mission trying to reach Al-Awda Hospital was impeded, while a separate mission to the Indonesian Hospital had to abort after waiting hours for clearance. WHO’s 2026 emergency appeal says 2.9 million people in the occupied Palestinian territory will require humanitarian health assistance this year, with 2.4 million targeted for support. (who.int) ### Why is there another flotilla from Turkey? On May 14, the Washington Post and Reuters reported that dozens of boats carrying activists and aid began sailing from Turkey’s Mediterranean coast toward Gaza. The flotilla followed earlier interception episodes and was organized as a direct response to the continuing blockade and shortages inside the enclave, according to those reports. (who.int) OCHA said its Gaza humanitarian situation updates are issued every Wednesday, and the update page available this week said the next one would be published on May 14. That release schedule, along with WHO’s emergency reports and OCHA’s funding tracker, is where the next verified data points on aid access, health access and financing are likely to appear. (unocha.org) (washingtonpost.com)