Aid Corridor Closure Deepens Food Shortages in Famine-Stricken Northern Gaza

Food insecurity in northern Gaza has worsened since Israel shut down a key corridor into the famine-hit area earlier this month, just before intensifying its ground assault. Residents and UN agencies say the closure has forced community kitchens and health centers to shut down and has severely slowed the flow of essential food supplies.

On September 12, days before Israel’s ground offensive, the Zikim crossing was closed, creating new hardships for Gaza City in the north. Aid agencies have since raised alarms. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) told Reuters it has been unable to deliver any supplies through Zikim, which previously carried half of its food shipments into Gaza.

According to Amjad al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network, the closure has left northern Gaza short by roughly 50,000 daily meals—on top of an existing gap of 109,000 meals per day before Zikim was shut. With some free community kitchens in Gaza City forced to close, tens of thousands are going without food.

Residents Describe Worsening Crisis

Locals say conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Ongoing strikes have displaced hundreds of thousands, though some families remain in place despite Israeli evacuation orders, fearing they will face even greater dangers and hunger if they leave.

Um Zaki, a mother of five from Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, described soaring food prices and shortages: “The situation is getting harder and harder. Those selling food have already moved south.”

Ismail Zayda, 40, displaced with his infant daughter and two young sons to a coastal camp, said his family is surviving on canned goods. “There are no vegetables at all,” he said.

The Gaza City municipality has warned of a deepening water crisis, with less than 25% of daily needs being met. Fuel shortages and security risks have crippled water distribution.

Israeli Position

Israel says it imposes no quantitative limits on food aid entering Gaza and accuses Hamas—its adversary in a nearly two-year-long war—of stealing supplies, a charge the group denies.

The Israeli military branch COGAT, which oversees aid flows, said humanitarian deliveries to northern Gaza continue and that it is working to triple capacity through the Kisufim crossing into central Gaza. COGAT said about 300 trucks, most carrying food, have been entering Gaza daily in recent weeks and that it has coordinated fuel transfers for desalination plants and water wells. Asked about reopening Zikim, it said truck entry would be facilitated “subject to operational considerations.”

Israel maintains that international agencies bear responsibility for distributing aid inside Gaza. COGAT said it is assisting them in this effort.

However, WFP reported logistical difficulties moving food from southern Gaza to the north due to congestion on the sole available route. The UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) said Israel rejected 40% of aid requests for northern Gaza in the 10 days following Zikim’s closure.

UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said from Geneva: “With Zikim shut, famine is becoming even deadlier for those left behind. Children are dying before our eyes while the world normalizes their suffering.”

Last month, a global hunger-monitoring body confirmed famine had taken hold in Gaza City and warned of its likely spread—a conclusion disputed by Israel.

Health Facilities Under Strain

Treatment options for malnutrition are dwindling. The World Health Organization said four health facilities in Gaza City have already closed this month, while the UN confirmed some nutrition centers have also shut down. Hospitals in southern Gaza are struggling to cope with the influx of displaced patients.

At Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, spokesman Khalil al-Dakran told Reuters the facility is “completely full” and suffering severe shortages of medicines, supplies, and fuel.

Antoine Renard, WFP’s country director for Palestine, warned that mass displacement from the north is also straining food stocks in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in southern Gaza—areas themselves at risk of famine.