Israel attacks less as war with Iran intensifies, but so does aid to Gaza

Since Israel launched a military campaign against Iran and expanded into Lebanon, the 33-year-old Palestinian has noticed a calm in the ravaged Palestinian territory.

“Air strikes have decreased,” Abu Mohsen told AFP from his tent in northern Gaza.

But quiet is relative.

Abu Mohsen said that despite the ceasefire brokered by the United States since October 10, explosions are still occurring in the Gaza Strip.

Explosions of house demolition and shelling echoed throughout the territory, accompanied by the constant drone of warplanes and reconnaissance drones overhead.

Israeli forces killed a woman and wounded another in the Al-Mawasi area on Saturday, and injured “several others” in live fire in the center of the Al-Bureij refugee camp, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency.

But for Abu Mohsen and other Gazans, daily life has become more difficult since the war with Iran began and borders have tightened again.

On Saturday, Israel closed all entry points into the Palestinian territories for several days as the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Gaza’s main gateway to Rafah on the Egyptian border remains closed, although the Kerem Shalom crossing reopened on Tuesday.

“Israel is taking advantage of the world’s attention on Iran’s war and increasing restrictions on Gaza,” Abu Mohsen said.

-“Want to live like a human being”-

In the southern coastal district of Al-Mawasi, 59-year-old Abdullah al-Astal said new shortages of daily necessities masked the impact of fewer strikes.

“Israeli bombing has indeed decreased a lot, but Israel is preventing food aid and fuel from coming in,” Astal told AFP.

For him, geopolitics is less important than his ability to live with dignity.

“Personally, I don’t care” about slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or anyone else, he said. “I do not support Iran, whether it supports Gaza or not.”

“We want to live like humans.”

Gaza relies almost entirely on aid trucks to deliver food, medicine and fuel. When border crossings close, even briefly, local markets react immediately.

A source at Gaza’s crossing authority confirmed to AFP that a “small number of trucks” were able to enter Gaza through Kerem Shalom on Wednesday, but his agency had not received formal notification of the crossing’s opening.

The source added that Israeli authorities informed them that Rafah would remain closed until further notice.

The Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reported that 500,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom on Tuesday.

Even so, the damage has been done.

“What we saw was an immediate increase in prices,” UNICEF spokesman Jonathan Krikes told AFP.

“The prices of the most basic necessities, like food, soap, etc., have increased by 200 or 300 percent,” he said, adding that “it really shows Gaza’s extreme vulnerability and extreme dependence on external aid.”

– rush sale –

Felipe Ribeiro, head of mission for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontières in the Palestinian territories, said Gazans were stocking up on essentials after Kerem Shalom reopened on Tuesday.

He said there was “hyperinflation in prices within days” in part because of Gaza’s low storage capacity, and disruptions to the flow of goods could quickly create shortages.

In a displacement camp in Gaza City, retired teacher Safiya Hammouda described panic buying at the start of Iran’s war.

“From the first day of the war in Iran, people were scared and started buying anything in the market. Basic goods were available but they were starting to run out,” she told AFP.

Although the shelling has eased in recent days, she said, “Gaza has been completely ignored.”

“They want to destroy Iran and turn it into a devastated country like Gaza, unable to provide food and life,” she said, referring to the utter devastation in the area, where the United Nations said in October 2025 that 81 percent of buildings had been damaged.

Mohammad Hiru said in a tent set up in the school compound that the prices of some goods had doubled or more in a matter of days.

“I think the world will forget about Gaza and no one will pay attention to our suffering,” he said.

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This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.