New York / PNN /

 Humanitarian relief organizations say the aid reaching Gaza is extremely limited, while hunger persists and winter approaches, and the old tents are beginning to deteriorate — nearly four weeks after the cease‑fire that followed the devastating two‑year Israeli war.

The World Food Programme, in a statement last night, said only half of the required amount of food is reaching the Strip, while a group of Palestinian organisations said the total aid entering is only about a quarter to a third of the expected amount.

The United Nations, which previously published daily figures on aid‑truck crossings into Gaza, no longer routinely provides these numbers.

The cease‑fire and increased flow of aid since mid‑October have brought some improvement, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The office said that 10% of children tested in Gaza are still suffering from acute malnutrition, down from 14% in September, with over a thousand children suffering the most severe forms of malnutrition.

It added that half of households in Gaza reported increased access to food, especially in the south, with more aid and commercial supplies arriving after the truce. Families now receive an average of two meals a day, after only one meal per day in July.

However, a sharp gap remains between the south and the north, where conditions are still much worse.

With winter approaching, the residents of Gaza need shelter. Tents are eroding and buildings that survived the war are often exposed, unstable and dangerous.

Amjad Al‑Shawa, Director of the Palestinian Non‑Governmental Network, which liaises with the UN, said: “We are heading into winter very soon, which means rainwater and expected floods and the likelihood of many diseases spreading because there are hundreds of tonnes of waste near population centres.”

He added that only 25–30% of the expected aid into Gaza has arrived so far.

Estimates indicate that 1.5 million people in Gaza are in need of shelter.