Israel shuts Gaza border crossings as strikes on Iran begin, but aid groups warn of what’s coming next

Israel has closed all of its border crossings into the Gaza Strip, a move announced Saturday as the U.S. and Israel began launching strikes against Iran. As detailed by The Hill, the closures were framed as part of broader security adjustments tied to the escalating regional conflict.

The Israeli government agency Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories said on X that the shutdowns are part of “several necessary security adjustments” following the joint attacks on Iran early Saturday morning. Key entry points, including the Rafah Crossing, are now closed.

COGAT said the “rotation of humanitarian personnel is postponed” but insisted the closures “will have no impact on the humanitarian situation” in Gaza. The agency added that the existing stock of food should “suffice for an extended period.”

Aid groups warn food supplies may not last

Aid organizations have raised concerns that the closures could quickly undermine fragile humanitarian gains. The broader regional escalation has been shaped by Iran strike timeline shift.

In January, the United Nations reported that humanitarian groups had managed to meet 100 percent of basic food needs in the enclave for the first time since October 2023. Despite that milestone, conditions remain dire, and as of December, more than three-fourths of Gaza’s population was facing crisis levels of food insecurity, according to the World Food Program USA.

Humanitarian deliveries had increased after Israel and Hamas agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October, roughly two years after the war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The ceasefire has remained tenuous, with Israel continuing strikes in Gaza and Hamas not disarming.

Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, sharply criticized the border closures. The wider uncertainty around leadership outcomes has also been tracked in Iran succession plan details.

He said his organization “will run out of food this week” if crossings remain shut. In April 2024, an Israeli strike killed six World Central Kitchen workers and their Palestinian driver in Gaza, and Andrés said on X that his group is cooking one million hot meals every day and requires daily food deliveries to sustain operations.

“All the NGOs in Gaza need more food, medicine, medical equipment, fuel, tents, personal care every day,” Andrés wrote, urging that humanitarian trucks be allowed through immediately.