COGAT says it facilitated entry of 430 aid trucks into Gaza this week; UN says 600 needed daily

Israel facilitated the entry of 430 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza this past week, the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says.

The aid included food, flour and medical equipment and was transferred to the northern Gaza Strip via the Zikim Crossing and to the southern Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, COGAT says.

The weekly figure is below the 600 figure that the UN says is needed every day in order to meet the basic needs of Gazans.

Israel says the UN is failing to pick up much of the aid that has been transferred into the Strip, but the UN says that is because the IDF doesn’t grant its staff safe passage.

The low levels of aid have been highlighted by the desperate scenes of Gazans overrunning sites belonging to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation along with routes used by the UN to transfer its aid.

There have been near-daily reported deadly shootings of Palestinians seeking to pick up aid, with the IDF admitting to opening fire at those who strayed off authorized roads or used them at unauthorized times.

GHF said earlier Saturday that it distributed 22,000 boxes of food at three sites today, which was almost a third lower than the amount handed out in recent days.

“Today’s reduced distribution numbers reflect supply chain disruptions due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and the observance of Shabbat, which renders the Kerem Shalom crossing inaccessible,” GHF said in a statement.

Over a month ago, GHF said it had secured a commitment from Israel to allow it to open a distribution site in northern Gaza, but there has yet to be any follow-through.