The amount of humanitarian assistance desperately needed has not entered Gaza in required quantities since October 7, 2023, says a British doctor who has volunteered in the Palestinian territory.

“And of course, since then needs have increased exponentially,” James Smith, an emergency doctor who recently returned after working in Gaza, told Al Jazeera.

Smith said he joined several aid and medical convoys that attempted to move from the south of Gaza to the north.

“More often than not, we were denied access by the Israeli military manning the checkpoints. Very few of the UN convoys that attempted to reach the north have reached. This also on occasion meant we could not retrieve injured and sick patients from the north.”