Mohammad Ahmed returned empty-handed for the third time in a row. His torn clothing was evidence of the crushing crowds he had struggled through for hours near the aid trucks.

The 47-year-old father walked 25 kilometres round-trip from his tent in al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, braving Israeli air strikes and passing through evacuation zones the Israeli military considers active combat areas—only to arrive too late, as desperately hungry crowds had already swarmed the limited aid supplies.

His four children remained hungry. Ahmed himself has lost 12 kilograms in a single month, sometimes fasting for days, as he saves what little food exists for his family. 

"The starvation has reached its peak and there's nowhere to get help," says Ahmed, who once worked as a social researcher, before the war destroyed his home and forced him into displacement. "I've been unemployed since the war began, and what's available in the market is limited and overpriced beyond my means."

"We are starving and losing our bodies, and may reach the point of losing our lives if no one intervenes to save us."

Israel's announcement this week of limited humanitarian aid access and a partial daily humanitarian pause covering just 12 percent of Gaza's territory has brought modest relief to some areas. The move followed increasing international scrutiny over its continued restrictions on aid, which have deepened the crisis in the besieged enclave.

Still, aid workers and residents question whether the measures address the scale of hunger gripping the territory's 2.2 million people or merely serve to ease international pressure on Israel.

The new arrangement allows aid delivery during daily 10-hour windows from 10 am to 8 pm in three areas where displaced Palestinians have concentrated: al-Mawasi in the south, Gaza City in the north, and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Military assaults continue elsewhere in the enclave.

The so-called humanitarian pause, limited to these corridors and hours, is not recognised as a ceasefire, with no protections guaranteed for civilians or aid workers.

A desperate journey

What Ahmed calls his daily "journey of torment" begins at dawn from his tent and continues until before evening, hoping to get anything from aid trucks to ease his children's hunger slightly, but to no avail.

Ahmed compared the massive crowds of hungry people waiting for aid trucks to "pilgrims during Hajj season in Mecca," thousands packed into narrow streets with overwhelming density. The vast majority return home with nothing but disappointment and feelings of abandonment, he said.

Despite airdrops by international actors including Jordan, France, and the United States, and minimal deliveries through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, Ahmed has not been able to secure food.

Palestinian officials and aid groups say the response remains vastly inadequate.

In many cases, airdrops fall in unsafe or inaccessible areas, including Israeli-controlled zones, or are seized in chaotic scenes by armed individuals, leaving the most vulnerable at risk of injury and still without food.

In northern Gaza, some residents report being unable to retrieve the aid due to sniper fire or shelling near drop zones.

Humanitarian agencies say such efforts offer symbolic support but little substance.

The Gaza Ministry of Health says aid reaching the enclave remains far below what is required to meet even minimum nutritional needs. Even when trucks are reported to enter, most are funnelled into limited corridors, where crowds and poor coordination make it nearly impossible for the most vulnerable to access supplies.

The swaths of people who clung to or climbed aboard the vehicles barely had enough supplies for themselves, leaving no opportunity for others to receive assistance. His clothes tore from the intensity of the crowding, yet he came away empty-handed despite his proximity to the trucks.

Ahmed is worried if aid continues to be delivered in this way, the level of starvation will not improve.

"I live days on less than just one meal. We've all lost weight and my children complain of headaches and inability to walk sometimes, tending toward stillness and even sleep," he explains.

"We were optimistic when the occupation announced it would allow aid entry, but the first day wasn't promising because very limited quantities entered, and we waited from morning until evening for trucks to arrive."

Not enough aid

Saeed Nabil, 42, faced a similar ordeal. He narrowly escaped death when Israeli forces opened heavy fire as he tried to retrieve a sack of flour from an aid truck. Standing beside him, an elderly man in his sixties was shot in the hand while carrying a box of food.

Nabil said he knew there was a risk of Israeli bombardment and gunfire and had initially hesitated to approach the aid trucks, but with no other options and his children going hungry, he felt he had no choice.

He and a friend later volunteered to carry the injured man's box of aid and help him reach a hospital. The man had insisted on holding onto the box, telling them he would not leave it "even if bombed by an F-16," since his children and grandchildren had not eaten in days.

"We're optimistic that aid is entering, but what's certain is that restricting it to limited numbers will keep us in famine and nothing will change," he tells TRT World. "We need definite assurances from international parties that the occupation will allow sufficient quantities to enter and that it will allow securing their transport and distribution."

Nabil does not rule out that the new Israeli measures are "primarily formal," aimed at "fooling the world that starvation has ended" while Israel continues to deny the famine it created exists. 

After the last ceasefire collapsed between Hamas and the Israeli government, the army tightened its siege on Gaza and prevented aid entry. In recent weeks, limited aid resumed as starvation intensified.

Systemic restrictions

Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Gaza Network of NGOs, says hunger in Gaza continues to worsen. He accuses Israel of misleading the international community by claiming to allow aid in while detaining much of it at crossings.

"Hunger is intensifying at all levels," al-Shawa explains. "The occupation restricts aid and deceives by claiming it’s letting it in, while actually holding trucks on the Palestinian side and even firing at people trying to access food."

He pointed out that only 70 trucks entered the previous day, "far below the need," and that many others remain stuck at the Karem Abu Salem crossing after being transferred from Egypt.

Aid officials estimate that at least 1,000 trucks per day are required to meet basic needs and halt starvation trends in Gaza.

Al-Shawa also warned of Israel's push for alternative distribution mechanisms such as the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation while sidelining UN agencies. “This is a deliberate restriction process, not a humanitarian response,” he said.

Humanitarian agencies have confirmed that food insecurity has reached catastrophic levels across Gaza, where the entire population faces widespread hunger.

Aid supplies were cut off entirely in March, and while limited deliveries resumed in May, new layers of restrictions severely curtailed access. Food stocks have dwindled as a result, and the Gaza Ministry of Health reports that at least 127 people, 85 of them children, have died from malnutrition since the war began.

There are no international mechanisms in place to monitor or enforce aid deliveries or civilian protection during distribution. Aid convoys and waiting civilians remain vulnerable to Israeli military action, and the UN has repeatedly reported obstructions at crossings and within Gaza itself.

Efforts to deliver aid by air have also proven problematic. While airdrops offer symbolic support and some immediate relief, Al-Shawa warns of their ineffectiveness.

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"I confirm our appreciation for the initiative, but there are about 47,000 people per square kilometre in Gaza in need of food. The dropping process will either be in areas controlled by the Israeli occupation army or shelter centres, and we don't want injuries or casualties."

Al-Shawa adds that Gaza needs 1,000 trucks to enter daily, to stop people from starving.  

“We call for the continued pressure on the occupation to ensure opening land crossings that provide larger quantities, and seeking to sustain that”.

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.