Even if the access route with Egypt starts functioning in the coming days, relief agencies face significant difficulties distributing aid to northern Gaza, the territory most severely affected by starvation, according to experts.
Major routes are virtually impassable due to massive destruction across the devastated territory – or are still controlled by security personnel. Any transport that malfunctions is probably will be quickly plundered.
Zikim, the key gateway to the northern region, destroyed during 24 months of war, has been inactive for several weeks, and authorities have informed aid groups in Gaza that there are no short-term arrangements to open the entry location, as stated by relief personnel.
The main city was the objective of a significant armed campaign initiated in August that was continuing when the ceasefire deal was finalized a week ago.
Damage in the north has been widespread, with entire towns including urban centers and Beit Hanoun in devastated as well as many of the surrounding regions of the urban center.
"Any operation of a crossing into Gaza is positive, but we need to make sure we can access populations where they are," said a senior director from a humanitarian organization.
Observers said many of the roughly 300,000 people who have come back to the north from the overcrowded coastal zone where they had been living during the Israeli offensive were now "staying" among the ruins of their homes, often without any housing and with limited food or water.
A spokesperson from a UN agency said the devastation in northern Gaza was "shocking".
"We see street after street, structure after structure ... there is extreme need for water. The situation is dire. We need all the crossings open," the representative, who was in the northern city recently, stated.
A community leader working from Gaza City said the needs in what used to be the territory's active economic and cultural hub were "overwhelming".
"We see this optimism and optimism but there needs to be quick improvement on the crossings. We haven't seen major improvement on the ground yet," the director stated.
"There remains a very limited amount of support [and] we are only starting to grasp the level of damage. So many streets are overwhelmed by ruins ... there is hardly any residence that is safe. There is damage and live explosives across the region."
In recent days, relief groups said limited amounts of necessary propane came into Gaza for the first instance in many weeks, along with shipments of wheat, grains and produce. The new supplies sent commercial prices tumbling.
Within a central community, a community member said there had been some improvement since the ceasefire.
"Stores are stocked with food, fresh goods, and produce, although the costs are continuing to be expensive and not accessible for the entire population," the resident said.
"The primary requirements now, specifically due to the coming of colder weather, are to have a tent to shelter us from the cold and cold-weather clothing because the stores do not have adequate garments for us or, if they are available, they are very few and very expensive."
Several internationally-backed bread-making centers in mid and southern regions have restarted operations since the ceasefire.
Vehicles were announced to have entered the Kerem Shalom crossing via the eastern border to Gaza during the week, though exact numbers were unknown.
The nation's news organization reported that the day's aid deliveries would include edible goods, treatment resources, petroleum products, fuel for cooking and equipment to restore essential services.
"Relief supplies keeps coming into the Gaza territory through the border access point and alternative access points after security checks," an military representative commented.
But tracking the volume of transports could be deceptive, advised an expert from a relief agency. "It's crucial to understand the materials within the trucks and their capacity levels for it to be a genuinely useful metric," the official said.
Business entities are sending convoys of vehicles carrying confectionery, fizzy drinks and light food, which have little nutritional value, while emergency treatments for children or people who have been without sufficient nutrition for two years are unavailable.
Within the northern urban center, only a handful of healthcare facilities are operating, compared with numerous in summer.
Various groups have significant funding worth of supplies stored near the territory awaiting entry. A humanitarian body working with local residents across the area for a long time has extended provisions of nutrition for everyone in Gaza ready to be distributed.
"We maintain the materials, the instruments and the expertise ... we only require the access," said a relief official, who recently came back from Gaza.
A proposed plan specifies that "complete" support should enter Gaza and be allocated through humanitarian bodies and the Red Crescent, without obstruction from both armed factions or national security.
This likely prohibits the disputed Israel-backed relief agency which began operations in May, leading to disorderly situations and numerous casualties as large groups of people assembled around its distribution sites.
Aid officials in Gaza {told|informed
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