Gaza aid still bottlenecked by dual-use limits and fuel shortages
Gaza aid access remains tightly limited nearly a year into the ceasefire. Dual-use restrictions slow shelter gear and spare parts. Hospitals warn fuel and generator shortages are cutting services.
Nearly a year after the October 2025 ceasefire, humanitarian agencies say Gaza aid access is still tightly constrained — less by empty food manifests than by Israeli "dual-use" rules that slow or block gear hospitals, shelters, and debris crews need.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in mid-September that Kerem Shalom remains the only operational cargo crossing after Zikim closed on May 24. In the week of Sept. 7–13, the U.N. and partners' offloading rate at Kerem Shalom fell to about 70 percent from 77 percent, with the Egyptian corridor near 35 percent. OCHA says items Israel labels dual-use — timber, tents, tarpaulins, tools, solar gear, heavy machinery, spare parts, and engine oil — face longer approvals, frequent rejections, and a cap near 15 approved dual-use truckloads a week,.
Those limits show up on the ground. On Sept. 16 a war-damaged building collapsed in Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa area, killing 21 people, including 12 children, according to Civil Defence figures cited by OCHA; search teams said shortages of heavy machinery, fuel, and spare parts slowed rescue work. The Guardian's Sept. 27 reporting put Gaza's debris at about 61 million tonnes and said dual-use bans keep new crushers and construction gear out.
Hospitals face the same squeeze. The National reported Sunday that only 19 of Gaza's 38 hospitals are functioning and that about 70 percent of hospital generators are out of service for lack of fuel, engine oil, and spare parts. Health officials said hospitals need about 94,000 litres of diesel a month and that the World Health Organization would stop funding diesel and oil for 13 hospitals and seven health centres, citing Israeli restrictions. Winterization adds urgency: OCHA's Sept. 4 report said more than 400 truckloads of shelter items — including 141,000 tarpaulins and hundreds of thousands of timber pieces — were awaiting clearance in the Jordan corridor after repeated rejections. On Sept. 25, The National reported Israel's pledge to let in about $49 million in EU-funded essential-services material, including water pumps.
Israeli authorities and security-aligned desks dispute the cause. COGAT says entry policy is set by Israel's political echelon and applied uniformly to the U.N., NGOs, donors, and private traders; it denies systematically blocking aid and says it offers alternatives to dual-use items so civilian needs can be met without giving Hamas divertible materiel. A July COGAT ceasefire review argued food volumes entering Gaza far exceeded World Food Programme benchmarks and that Hamas's refusal to disarm under Security Council Resolution 2803 remains the main barrier to wider reconstruction. The Washington Examiner has covered the parallel U.S. push away from UNRWA toward privately backed distribution, citing Oct. 7-linked staff allegations.
OCHA situation reports and the UN 2720 dashboard remain the best public tallies of what clears the gate; COGAT and Civil-Military Coordination Center readouts carry the security frame. The live question is which categories clear Kerem Shalom fast enough to keep generators, shelters, and clearance crews working before winter rains hit overcrowded sites.
Where outlets agree OCHA, The Guardian, and The National agree that dual-use screening and spare-parts limits still constrain Gaza aid beyond food truck counts, with Kerem Shalom as the main cargo gate and hospitals and rubble crews short of fuel, oil, machinery, and shelter materials.
Where they differ OCHA, The Guardian, and The National frame Israeli dual-use rules and generator-fuel approvals as the binding bottleneck; COGAT and the Washington Examiner stress diversion and disarmament risks, arguing Israel applies a uniform entry policy, offers dual-use alternatives, and that food volumes or privately backed distribution have already exceeded prior benchmarks.