Hundreds of truckloads of aid have entered Gaza since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire began last weekend, but its distribution inside the devastated territory remains an enormous challenge.The destruction of the infrastructure that previously processed deliveries and the collapse of the structures that used to maintain law and order make the safe delivery of aid to the territory’s 2.4 million people a logistical and security nightmare.In the final months before the ceasefire, the few aid convoys that managed to reach central and northern Gaza were routinely looted, either by desperate civilians or by criminal gangs.Over the past week, UN officials have reported “minor incidents of looting” but they say they are hopeful that these will cease once the aid surge has worked its way through.In Rafah, in the far south of Gaza, an AFP cameraman filmed two aid trucks passing down a dirt road lined with bombed out buildings.At the first sight of the dust cloud kicked up by the convoy, residents began running after it.Some jumped onto the truck’s rear platforms and cut through the packaging to reach the food parcels inside. UN humanitarian coordinator for the Middle East Muhannad Hadi said: “It’s not organised crime. Some kids jump on some trucks trying to take food baskets.”Hopefully, within a few days, this will all disappear, once the people of Gaza realise that we will have aid enough for everybody.”- ‘Prices are affordable’ – central Gaza, residents said the aid surge was beginning to have an effect.”Prices are affordable now,” said Hani Abu al-Qambaz, a shopkeeper in Deir el-Balah. For 10 shekels ($2.80), “I can buy a bag of food for my son and I’m happy.”The Gaza spokesperson of the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said that while the humanitarian situation remained “alarming”, some food items had become available again.The needs are enormous, though, particularly in the north, and it may take longer for the aid surge to have an impact in all parts of the territory.In the hunger-stricken makeshift shelters set up in former schools, bombed-out houses and cemeteries, hundreds of thousands lack even plastic sheeting to protect themselves from winter rains and biting winds, aid workers say.In northern Gaza, where Israel kept up a major operation right up to the eve of the ceasefire, tens of thousands had had no access to deliveries of food or drinking water for weeks before the ceasefire.- UNRWA’s fate clouds aid surge  -With Hamas’s leadership largely eliminated by Israel during the war, Gaza also lacks any political authority for aid agencies to work with.In recent days, Hamas fighters have begun to resurface on Gaza’s streets. But the authority of the Islamist group which ruled the territory for nearly two decades has been severely dented, and no alternative administration is waiting in the wings.That problem is likely to get worse over the coming week, as Israeli legislation targeting the lead UN aid agency in Gaza takes effect.Despite repeated pleas from the international community for a rethink, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which has been coordinating aid deliveries into Gaza for decades, will be effectively barred from operating from Tuesday.UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler warned the effect would be “catastrophic” as other UN agencies lacked the staff and experience on the ground to replace it.British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned last week that the Israeli legislation risked undermining the fledgling ceasefire.Brussels-based think tank the International Crisis Group said the Israeli legislation amounted to “robbing Gaza’s residents of their most capable aid provider, with no clear alternative”.Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the October 2023 attack by Hamas gunmen, which started the Gaza war.A series of probes, including one led by France’s former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its chief allegations.

Four young women soldiers, abducted by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023 while serving near the Gaza border, are set to be released on Saturday, according to a list provided by Hamas as part of its ceasefire agreement with Israel.Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy were captured together while deployed in a surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz military base, close to the Gaza border. Their abduction was filmed by the militants.Three other women soldiers were taken hostage with them: Agam Berger, who is still held in Gaza and presumed alive; Noa Marciano, whose body has since been repatriated to Israel; and Ori Megidish, who was freed alive by the Israeli military in late October 2023.- Liri Albag, 19 -Liri Albag was doing her military service on the border with the Gaza Strip when she was abducted from the Nahal Oz base.According to press reports, hostages who were released earlier told her parents that Albag was forced by her captors to cook, clean and babysit.The Jerusalem Post reported in July that she had passed messages to her family via hostages who had been released, telling her sister Shai not to cancel her traditional post-army trip and most of all not to touch her favourite shoes.In January, she appeared in a video of around three and a half minutes released by Hamas.”She loves travelling, singing,  photography and cooking,” Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.Her parents Shira and Eli Albag have campaigned for the hostages’ release.- Karina Ariev, 20 -Karina Ariev was abducted while doing her military service at the border with Gaza. A video of her capture showed her being wounded. She was shown in January 2024 in a new video released by Hamas on Telegram, alongside hostage Daniella Gilboa. She turned 20 in captivity.”She dreams of becoming a psychologist and is known for being compassionate and for bringing people together,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.- Daniella Gilboa, 20 -Daniella Gilboa from Petah Tikva was abducted while doing her military service along the border with Gaza. She was identified as a hostage by the clothes she was wearing in videos she sent to her boyfriend on the morning of the attack.Gilboa, who turned 20 in captivity, was shown, alongside hostage Karina Ariev, in January 2024 in a video published by Hamas on the social network Telegram.Gilboa “is a passionate musician who studies piano and singing, aspiring to pursue a professional career in music,” the forum said.- Naama Levy, 20 -Naama Levy, now 20, was abducted while doing her military service along the border with Gaza. In a video of her capture released by Hamas, she is shown being escorted to a vehicle wearing trousers which appeared to be covered with blood. In other images, the granddaughter of survivors of the Nazi death camps appears with a swollen face.The second child of four, she grew up in India where she studied at a US international school. As a child, she took part in the Hands of Peace programme, which promotes peace between young Israelis and Palestinians.She is a keen triathlete.”Family and friends describe her as gentle and quiet, yet full of light, joy, strength and determination,” the forum said.