A week after Israel pledged to open aid deliveries, crossings from Israel to northern Gaza remain closed, with senior US officials warning that famine has begun.

Israel will temporarily open the Erez crossing for the first time during the war, Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on April 5, following a tense phone call with US President Joe Biden. Seven employees at World Central Kitchen were hit by an airstrike.

The heavily fortified crossing was a busy terminal for people entering and leaving Gaza, but it was damaged when Hamas militants attacked the facility last October. The White House welcomed the news and urged Israel to implement the steps “fully and expeditiously.”

But nearly a week after the announcement, three senior humanitarian staff leading the Gaza response told I The crossing remains closed. Israeli government sources said the facility is believed to remain closed and could open next week.

Samantha Power, director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said on Thursday that alarming famine had begun to emerge in the war-torn enclave.

Ms Power was asked at a congressional hearing whether famine was “already happening” in northern Gaza.

“Yes,” she said, adding: “In northern Gaza, where malnutrition was almost zero before October 7, it is now one in three children.”

Karyn Beattie, head of Save the Children’s Gaza response team, said “not a single aid truck has entered Gaza via Erez, despite the temporary reopening being announced”.

“If the Erez crossing opens, it will be a step in the right direction, as it will allow aid to go directly to the north. However, since the north is in the “red zone,” it will need to be coordinated with the Israelis. This means Trucks and humanitarian aid will not be able to move until permission is granted,” she said.

“Based on our experience in the South, we know that even if permission is granted, it can be revoked at any time. We also don’t know what potential conditions Israel may impose, or whether there will be significant shifts to enable the aid to be delivered at the scale requested.”

She added: “It remains to be seen whether there are any further restrictions on items such as fuel being brought in through Erez. There are currently restrictions on bringing this kind of stuff from the south.”

Niki Ignatiou, senior humanitarian adviser at ActionAid UK, said news of the opening of the Erez crossing was “long overdue” and would allow “faster and more effective access” to those most in need in northern Gaza. Get assistance effectively.

However, she said there had been no progress so far and the announcement was “starting to look like an empty promise”.

“While it’s good that more aid has been coming into Gaza in recent days, it’s still nowhere near the level needed given the huge need, hunger and famine that everyone in Gaza is experiencing is looming, and is currently There are no open crossings in northern Gaza. Gaza,” Ms. Ignatiou said.

Islamic Relief said: “Hungry children cannot eat empty promises. With no sign of Erez opening yet, children are starving to death. Every hour counts and more delays will cost more lives. Opening Erez is just the bare minimum, it won’t solve the problem in itself, but it will be a start.”

The Israeli government also said it would allow more aid to enter through the port of Ashdod and would increase the supply of aid from Jordan through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

While the Erez crossing remains closed, trucks carrying aid are “flooding” into the Kerem Shalom crossing, government sources said.

Israel has pledged to send more aid to Gaza after seven aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike, with the Israeli military admitting it was a “grave mistake”.

People in Gaza are eating animal feed and drinking water from puddles, according to aid workers, and the United Nations has warned that famine is “imminent” in the area.

The healthcare system is also on the verge of collapse, with pregnant women having caesarean sections without anesthesia and doctors performing surgeries on the floor.

Gaza has been under heavy bombing and widespread military action since the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, massacred and kidnapped more than 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7.

More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment.