KUALA LUMPUR: Amidst hunger and desperation, Palestinians were seen hurrying towards aid trucks to obtain essential food and supplies in Gaza's Rafah area near the border with Egypt yesterday.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening, exacerbated by over two months of Israeli airstrikes and the forced displacement of people to the southern enclave.
As reported by Al Jazeera, dozens of Palestinians surrounded the aid trucks as they entered through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, prompting some to halt as people climbed aboard.
They were seen pulling down boxes of food and water, either carrying them off or passing them to crowds below.
However, some trucks appeared to be guarded by masked individuals carrying sticks.
"The humanitarian situation has become very desperate, not only for the residents of Rafah city but also for the one million displaced Palestinians here who are becoming hungry, thirsty, and traumatised as the war pounds on," reported Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud from Rafah.
Mahmoud also highlighted that the amount of aid permitted into the strip is insufficient, pushing Palestinians into "survival mode."
"People are without anything – without a home, without access to food, without water, and medical supplies," he said.
Recently, the United Nations has issued a stark warning about the dire situation in Gaza, emphasising that people in the region are so desperate for food that they are stopping aid trucks and immediately consuming whatever they find.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini, who recently visited the strip, expressed deep concern, stating that the residents, despite their longstanding history of suffering under the Israeli siege, have "never, ever experienced" hunger of this magnitude.
"Hunger is prevailing in Gaza. More and more people haven't eaten for one day, two days, three days... people lack absolutely everything," she said.
Aid deliveries entering Gaza through Rafah, the sole entry point on the Egyptian border, are only a fraction of pre-conflict levels despite the increasing needs.
The slow pace of aid delivery through the border crossing is attributed to delays caused by truck inspections.
Rafah is currently hosting more than 12,000 people per square kilometre, accommodating an estimated 85 per cent of those displaced across Gaza since the attacks began on Oct 7.
The conflict was triggered when Hamas, the Palestinian group governing Gaza, carried out a deadly attack on Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people (according to Israeli figures) and taking approximately 240 hostages back to Gaza.
In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has resulted in widespread destruction in Gaza, claiming the lives of 17,997 people, predominantly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.