The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday that its forces control "approximately 30% of the Gaza Strip as an advanced defensive security cordon." It also announced that it had attacked approximately 1,200 "terrorist targets," as it called them, from the air and carried out more than 100 "targeted liquidation" operations since resuming its offensive in the Strip on March 18 .
Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that "Israel's policy is clear: No humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and preventing this aid is one of the main pressure tools used to prevent Hamas from using it as a tool to pressure the population."
He added in a statement that "no one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to allow it in."
These developments come as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is "likely its worst" since the outbreak of the war, with the ongoing blockade and closure of crossings. It noted that a month and a half has passed "since any supplies were allowed in, the longest period of time that supplies have been cut off to date."
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been displaced since the resumption of attacks. Almost all of Gaza's population has been forced to flee repeatedly since the start of the war, with security in complete disarray.
Amid the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.4 million Palestinians, the non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip has become a "mass graveyard for Palestinians and those who rush to their aid" as a result of military operations and Israel's prevention of aid entry.
"We are witnessing the real-time destruction and forced displacement of Gaza's population," said Amand Bazirol, Emergency Coordinator for the Gaza Strip, noting that the humanitarian response "is severely affected by insecurity and severe shortages."
According to United Nations estimates, half a million Gazans have been displaced since Israel resumed military operations in the Strip.
On Wednesday, the Civil Defense in Gaza announced the deaths of 11 people in Israeli strikes, including women and children.