Gaza’s ailing children ‘desperately waiting for help’ despite ceasefire

Days after Hamas and Israel declared a ceasefire, the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza is severely constrained, leaving many residents, especially ailing children, in dire need. Currently, fewer than 300 trucks are entering Gaza daily, far short of the required 600, and reports indicate many of these carry commercial products rather than essential aid, which residents cannot afford as banks remain closed. Hospitals like the Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society are describing the condition of malnourished children as 'desperate,' running out of medicine, food, and fuel necessary for basic functioning. The collapse of Gaza's medical infrastructure is attributed to two years of bombardment and a complete humanitarian blockade since April, despite the ceasefire agreement promising the lifting of these restrictions. Parents are pleading for aid, with one mother unable to produce milk for her severely malnourished baby due to lack of supplies, while another waits anxiously for the reopening of the Rafah crossing for her child's life-saving surgery. However, COGAT stated that no aid would pass through Rafah, insisting aid will only enter via Kerem Shalom and other crossings, maintaining the chokehold on essential supplies.