For the first time since February, two fuel trucks carrying 107 tonnes of diesel entered Gaza on Sunday from Egypt via the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing. The delivery, coordinated with Israeli authorities, comes as the Rafah border crossing remains closed, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave.
Despite this limited shipment, Gaza’s government media office reported that more than 22,000 humanitarian aid trucks — most belonging to international and UN agencies — remain blocked at the borders. The office accused the Israeli government of deliberately preventing their entry as part of a systematic policy of “starvation engineering and chaos creation” amounting to an ongoing genocide against Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
The media office condemned the siege and obstruction of aid as a war crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, holding Israel and complicit silent states fully responsible for the catastrophic consequences of denying food, medicine and fuel. It called for the immediate, unconditional reopening of all crossings to enable the safe and sustained delivery of aid.
On Saturday, only 36 trucks managed to enter Gaza — most of which were looted amid what officials described as security chaos deliberately fueled by Israel to disrupt civil life and aid distribution.
In a parallel disaster, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that Israel has destroyed around 97% of Gaza’s livestock — including chickens, cattle, sheep, goats and working animals — through bombardment and starvation. Thousands of farms have been razed, effectively collapsing the local food production system.
Before the war erupted in October 2023, Gaza had some 6,500 poultry farms producing roughly three million chickens each month. Nearly all have been destroyed. Over 15,000 cattle and tens of thousands of sheep and goats have perished. Working animals such as donkeys, mules and horses — vital for transport due to fuel shortages and destroyed roads — have also died or become too weak from hunger and exhaustion.
On the political front, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former U.S. President Donald Trump are discussing a new proposal for Gaza. The plan reportedly includes a timeline for Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and outlines a broader roadmap to end the war.
Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir escalated his rhetoric, calling on Sunday for the “full occupation of Gaza,” the elimination of all Hamas elements and “encouraging voluntary migration” to secure hostage release and ensure what he called a decisive victory. Speaking in a video filmed at the Al-Aqsa compound, Ben-Gvir demanded Israel assert sovereignty over the territory.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll since the offensive began in October 2023 has now exceeded 60,000, with more than 148,000 people injured. Over 9,200 deaths have occurred since mid-March alone.
Within Israel, the prolonged war is also taking its toll. Israel’s public broadcaster reported a sharp rise in suicide rates among Israeli soldiers, with 16 suicides recorded so far this year — four in the past month — largely attributed to the psychological strain of extended deployment in Gaza.
International condemnation continues to mount. Scottish First Minister John Swinney described the war in Gaza as a “genocide,” citing reports of widespread atrocities. Meanwhile, The Times of London revealed that the UK National Security Adviser under Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been working for months on a plan to recognise a Palestinian state — an initiative reportedly accelerated by French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent call for official recognition.
