---
title: "Some bread and baby food reach Gazans as blockade eases, Palestinians call for more"
description: "CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) - Flour and other food aid will start reaching some of Gaza's most vulnerable people on Thursday after Israel let some trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week blockade, Palestinian officials said."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-22-some-bread-and-baby-food-reach-gazans-as-blockade-eases-palestinians-call-for-more/"
published: "2025-05-22T12:44:53"
updated: "2025-05-22T12:44:54"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 498
---

# Some bread and baby food reach Gazans as blockade eases, Palestinians call for more

> CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) - Flour and other food aid will start reaching some of Gaza's most vulnerable people on Thursday after Israel let some trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week blockade, Palestinian officials said.

By Reuters · Published 22 May 2025, 14:44 SAST · Updated 22 May 2025, 14:44 SAST

## Key points
- In a bittersweet twist of fate, Israel has begrudgingly allowed a trickle of aid into Gaza—100 trucks laden with baby food and medical supplies—while simultaneously ramping up military strikes that have left over 35 Palestinians dead, proving that even a crumb of compassion comes with a side of chaos.
- Israel allowed 100 trucks of aid, including baby food and medical supplies, into Gaza amid international pressure, but the volume remains drastically low compared to pre-blockade levels.
- The UN warns that a quarter of Gaza's population faces famine, while local NGOs highlight the insufficiency of aid as just a "drop in the ocean."
- Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed at least 35 Palestinians on Thursday, with ongoing military actions severely impacting Gaza's healthcare system.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed willingness for a temporary ceasefire for hostage negotiations, but Hamas officials criticized the lack of commitment to ending violence in Gaza.

## Content

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

Israel said it allowed [100 trucks](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3RT0GP&linkedFromStory=true) also carrying baby food and medical equipment into the enclave on Wednesday, two days after announcing its [first relaxation](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3RP08C&linkedFromStory=true) of the restrictions under mounting international pressure.

Israel imposed the blockade on all supplies in March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters - a charge the group denies. The UN said a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million people were at risk of famine.

"Some bakeries will begin receiving flour to produce bread, and we expect the distribution of bread to begin later today," Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network in Gaza, told Reuters.

He said just 90 trucks had got through. "During the ceasefire, 600 trucks used to enter every day, which means that the current quantity is a drop in the ocean, nothing," he said.

Bakeries backed the U.N.'s World Food Programme would produce the bread and the agency's staff would hand it out - a more controlled system than previously when bakers sold it directly to the public at a low cost, he added.

"The idea is to try and reach the most needy families, those who are desperate, as it is just the start," Shawa said.

**ATTACKS REPORTED**

As the first aid arrived since the blockade, Israeli military strikes on Gaza killed at least 35 Palestinians across the enclave on Thursday, local health authorities said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reports. It has repeatedly said it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and targets militants.

In Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave, a tank shell hit a medicine warehouse inside Al-Awda Hospital and set it ablaze, the health ministry said. Rescue workers had been trying to extinguish the fires for hours, it added.

Tanks are stationed outside the hospital, medics say, effectively blocking access to the facility.

The Gaza healthcare system has been barely functioning, with most of the medical facilities out of order, because of repeated Israeli military strikes, raids and the ban on the entry of medical supplies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages taken by Hamas-led fighters. But if they were not returned, he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.

"Netanyahu continues to stall and insist on pursuing the war. There is no value to any agreement that doesn't stop the massacres in Gaza permanently," senior Hamas official Sami Ab Zuhri said in response to Netanyahu's comments.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza.

The campaign has since killed more than 53,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip, where aid groups say signs of severe malnutrition are widespread.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by AndrewHeavens)