How is humanitarian aid getting into Gaza?

Safe and unimpeded humanitarian aid access is desperately needed in Gaza. But how is aid being delivered now?

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Last updated 28 August 2025

For months, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has grown more desperate by the day.

Since 2023, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has distributed more than 1.6 million emergency relief items and processed more than 22,000 trucks of humanitarian aid.

But with aid access restricted, people have lived through immense pain, suffering and hunger.

The January 2025 ceasefire agreement gave millions of people in Gaza respite from relentless suffering. Families that were torn apart were reunited or able to put their loved ones to rest.  

The subsequent increase in fighting and a complete suspension in aid delivery in Gaza left the lives of millions of people in the balance. 

On 25 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, declared a famine in parts of Gaza, including Gaza City. Food supplies are virtually gone and starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a sharp rise in hunger-related deaths.

We need a renewed ceasefire agreement that can allow for sustained and unimpeded aid, protection for civilians and humanitarian workers, and the release of hostages.

Despite security risks, dwindling supplies and access restrictions, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has continued to operate in Gaza, day in and day out.

Our Palestine Red Crescent Society colleagues are from the very communities they help. Despite the impossible conditions they’re living in, they continue to get up every day and do all they can to help their neighbours in need. Their continued work provides a small glimmer of hope to their communities in a very dark time.

• Find out more about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and how we're trying to help: What is happening in Gaza?

Is aid getting into Gaza?

Only a very small amount of aid has entered Gaza in recent months. People are on the brink, struggling to find food, unable to access clean water and living without safe shelter. 

The situation on the ground is ever-changing, but there had been a significant increase in the volume of aid crossing the border after the ceasefire agreement came into place in January 2025. 

From the start of the ceasefire agreement to 1 February, the Palestine Red Crescent Society received 164 trucks through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is ready to significantly increase aid deliveries across borders and distribution within Gaza, led by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza, the Egyptian Red Crescent Society at the border with Egypt, and facilitated by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). 

What's the humanitarian situation like in Gaza?

In July 2025, the ICRC's president Mirjana Spoljaric said: “Every minute without a ceasefire risks civilian lives.

“People are being relentlessly killed in hostilities and while attempting to get food. Children are dying because they do not have enough to eat. Families are being forced to flee again and again in search of safety that does not exist. 

“This tragedy must end now – immediately and decisively. Every political hesitation, every attempt at justification of the horrors being committed under international watch will forever be judged as a collective failure to preserve humanity in war.

“Amid an ever-changing situation, the Palestine Red Crescent Society is working tirelessly on the ground to provide essential support.  But with every piece of medical equipment that is broken, every hospital wall that is destroyed, every supply stock that is damaged, the chances of recovery for thousands in Gaza slips away."

• The malnutrition crisis in Gaza: 475,000 people facing starvation

What’s the quickest and best way to get aid into Gaza?

The quickest way to get aid into Gaza is through established crossings like Rafah, Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem and Erez/Beit Hanoun.

Land-based delivery remains the most effective way to deliver aid into Gaza, as these roads are the main arteries for aid delivery and so have the greatest capacity. This approach is sustainable, reliable and has been successful in the past.

How has the Red Crescent been getting aid into Gaza?

Colleagues from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Egyptian Red Crescent have been working day and night, delivering assistance.

They have done so for over a year, playing a critical role in getting aid across the border and distributed to people in Gaza.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society are one of very few humanitarian actors who are present in Gaza itself - from north to south.

“The Palestine Red Crescent Society are one of very few humanitarian actors who are present in Gaza itself, throughout the Gaza strip from the south to the north,” says Sumiko, who was recently deployed with the IFRC to act as an operations manager.

“They have been providing assistance, not just now because of the recent conflict, but throughout the history of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Has the Red Crescent managed to deliver aid into Gaza?

Yes – the Palestine Red Crescent Society has been at the forefront of the humanitarian response from the very beginning of the conflict and has supported communities for decades.

To date, they have processed over 22,700 trucks of humanitarian aid since 2023, distributing over 1.6 million emergency relief items including food parcels, hygiene kits, blankets and tents. 

Day in and day out, Palestine Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers continue their work — saving lives, giving hope, and delivering support to those who need it most. 

How has the British Red Cross been supporting?

During crises like the conflict in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement comes together.

The British Red Cross is directly supporting Magen David Adom in Israel and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to respond to their communities’ urgent needs.

In July 2024, the British Red Cross launched the Gaza Crisis Appeal, to reflect the vast humanitarian needs in Gaza and the funding required to ensure these needs are met. 

Your donations have been invaluable in helping to fund this response.

How can more aid get into Gaza?

Though Gaza is facing a crisis that will not be healed by aid alone, aid agencies must be allowed to deliver humanitarian assistance at a faster pace – and safely.

This will vastly improve people’s chances of survival. Aid agencies, including the Red Cross and Red Crescent, are here to safeguard civilian life and uphold human dignity.

How can someone in the UK help Gaza?

Through a huge, sustained effort over a long period of time, we can avert an even greater catastrophe. We're on the ground and ready. Let's be there for people in Gaza. If you're in the UK, the best way to help us do this, is by donating to our appeal. 

• If you can, please donate to the Gaza Crisis appeal