An unusual look inside Gaza shows the challenges that compound the plight of the people

Southern Gaza Strip – In a rare opportunity to reach the war-torn Palestinian territory, CBS News visited a critical aid distribution center Wednesday inside the Gaza Strip, near the Karem Shalom border crossing into Israel. I human tragedy in Gaza after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas is always difficult.

Israeli officials say about 200 trucks cross from Israel to Gaza and pass through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint every day, on average, carrying much-needed supplies for Palestinian citizens caught up in the ongoing conflict.

But a pressing question persists: Is aid reaching those who need it most?

At the distribution center, truck drivers and aid workers told CBS News about the struggles they face, including the looting of humanitarian supplies, which they say remains a major problem in Gaza. Chaos and lawlessness in the region often prevent goods from reaching their intended recipients.

“The aid does not stop because gangs block it from the road,” said Mohammed Shehibar, a Palestinian transport coordinator from Al-Rimal, a neighborhood in Gaza City, who spoke to us as he watched over workers loading new forklifts. fruits.

He said that out of 100 trucks that left the area, “only 70 or 60 reached their destination.” Others, he said, were robbed.

“The only guarantee of getting help safely is that it will be there [be] Some stability in Gaza,” he said [the gangs] take up positions near the border … near [Israeli] soldiers … and they don't face problems.”

For other countries aid agencies they also complained that it was not enough help enters the Gaza Strip.

Last Sunday on CBS News' “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Cindy McCainthe head of the World Food Programme, said that his organization was able to get two aid trucks when they crossed in the month of November.

“That's not true,” said Col. Abdullah Halabi, head of Israel's Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza. “The humanitarian community in the last two weeks, with the development of the areas around Gaza, as in other crossings, was able to move 200 trucks to the center and south of Gaza.”

Israeli officials insist that sufficient aid is flowing into Gaza. They emphasized the difficulty of delivering goods to an active war zone and called for greater assistance from the international community to ensure safe transit and effective distribution within a reduced enclave.

Israel launched an attack on Gaza following a brutal attack by Hamas October 7, 2023which killed about 1,200 people. More than 100 the kidnappers taken by Hamas are still being held. Since i the beginning of the war in Gaza, at least 44,580 The Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, and most of its citizens have been internally displaced.

The danger was palpable during our visit, with the sound of a bomb going off nearby. Aid truck drivers are risking their lives to navigate the dangerous conditions created by crumbling infrastructure and security threats inside Gaza, highlighting the enormous challenges that aid agencies and Gazan citizens face.

There has been hope recently, however, as reports suggest that ongoing talks on a deal to release hostages could lead to a temporary freeze, and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

If such an agreement were to happen, distribution centers like the one on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing could soon be overwhelmed with additional supplies, providing aid to those most in need.