The Ministry of Defense unit responsible for facilitating the passage of aid into the Gaza Strip said on Tuesday that there is no shortage of food, water, or other humanitarian supplies in the Strip, and that stocks of essential supplies are monitored on a daily basis.

At a press conference for journalists, Israeli army Colonel Elad Gorin, from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit under the Ministry of Defense, insisted that amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, the levels of humanitarian aid provided to Gaza were much higher than the minimum levels required by international law, and that the humanitarian situation is under continuous review.

United Nations agencies such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UNICEF, as well as other international agencies like the World Health Organization, condemned the situation in the territory and called for the transfer of more supplies, but they did not mention a shortage of vital supplies.

Health authorities in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, say that more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting.

The Israeli army operation in Gaza was launched after the Hamas attack across the border on October 7, in which about 1,400 people were killed, most of them civilians.

At the press conference held by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Territories, Gorin, who heads the civilian section of the unit, said the agency is in daily contact with UN agencies and relevant international agencies on the ground and that its experts assess the humanitarian situation in Gaza every day.

Gorin said: "We check the status of stocks, reported shortages, and gaps arising from this data."

He continued: "I can say clearly that we are not close, not even remotely close, to approaching the minimum levels we are obligated to under international law," referring to the vital supplies the Israeli army is committed to providing.
Gorin insisted that there are sufficient food supplies in Gaza “for the coming weeks,” and said that although water supplies in the Strip are below normal levels, the current supplies “meet humanitarian needs.”

He pointed out that two of the three water pipelines from Israel to Gaza are operational, and that some water desalination plants and water treatment facilities that supply the Strip with 90 percent of its water in peacetime are functioning, especially in southern Gaza.

Gorin said these facilities are running out of fuel supplied by the United Nations, although some desalination plants also have solar panels to operate their processes.

Israel has prevented fuel from entering Gaza, claiming that Hamas has stored sufficient fuel reserves to meet basic humanitarian needs, and that providing more would help the movement continue to operate its extensive tunnel network, which it uses in its operations against Israeli military forces.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs acknowledged in its update dated November 6 that fuel was stored in Gaza before the current war and said it used those reserves to supply 120 municipal water wells throughout Gaza with pumping operations.

However, UNRWA said in its update dated November 6 that there is a "severe shortage of adequate sanitation facilities, including toilets and baths," leading to one to two hour waits in their shelters to use these facilities.

Gorin also insisted that adequate medical equipment and supplies are available in Gaza, but said they are “managed by Hamas, which chooses the medical equipment to keep for itself and its terrorists, and what should be provided to hospitals and when.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories office stated on Tuesday night that 96 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing during the day, including medical supplies, food, water, and other necessities.

According to the Israeli army, 665 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the start of the war, carrying 3,000 tons of food, 720 tons of medical equipment, more than 600 tons of temporary shelter equipment, and over 1.15 million liters of water.

Despite insisting there is no material shortage of supplies in the entire area, he acknowledged that access to some vital humanitarian necessities is more difficult in the northern part of the Gaza Strip where the fiercest fighting is taking place.

In its update on Monday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the shortage of operating bakeries in northern Gaza means people are making flatbread with flour and cooking it over fire in their homes.

It said that access to bread in southern Gaza is also a challenge, as 11 bakeries were destroyed in the Israeli army campaign, but at least nine bakeries were operating in the south and providing bread to UN civilian shelters.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that food aid for displaced persons in northern Gaza "has almost completely stopped in recent days" due to the intensification of the Israeli army ground operation.

The organization added that 14 of 35 hospitals have ceased operations, and 51 of 72 primary care facilities have closed due to damage or lack of fuel.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that about 1.5 million people in Gaza are now internally displaced, 717,000 of them living in 149 UNRWA facilities; 122,000 in hospitals, churches, and public buildings; 110,000 people in 89 non-UNRWA schools; and the rest with host families.

The agency said overcrowding in the territory has now become a “major concern,” noting that UN shelters cannot accommodate new arrivals.

UNRWA, the United Nations agency providing social and humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars, said there are 22,000 displaced persons in the Khan Younis training center alone, making it the most overcrowded UNRWA shelter with less than two square meters per person. At least 600 people share one toilet.

UNRWA’s update dated November 6 stated that “conditions in the shelters are inhumane and continue to deteriorate day by day... The deteriorating sanitary conditions, along with lack of privacy and space, pose huge risks to the health and safety of those seeking refuge.”

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said “the deteriorating sanitary conditions, along with lack of privacy and space, generate health and safety risks,” and that there are “thousands of cases of acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, and chickenpox” in UNRWA shelters.