The Israeli army shows foreign media around aid arriving in Gaza via a key crossing amid accusations that Israel is preventing assistance from reaching the Palestinian territory.
International aid organizations have repeatedly warned of the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, saying civilians are starving and aid shipments are now lower than at any time since October 2023 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, triggering the war in Gaza.
Israel blames the inability of relief organizations to handle and distribute large quantities of aid.
During the first media visit including AFP to the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the largest for humanitarian aid, journalists saw trucks carrying aid mainly from Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Israel itself.
The aid also comes from UNICEF, Rahma Worldwide and the World Food Kitchen. Distribution is organized by international aid agencies that hire local truck drivers.
“Today we have more than 800 truckloads that are waiting for the international community to take them and deliver them to the people inside Gaza,” says Colonel Abdullah Halabi, who heads the Gaza division of COGAT, the Israeli military unit responsible for overseeing humanitarian needs in Gaza.
He says often the goods wait at the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, the southernmost entry point from Israel, for “months.”
Halabi rejects claims Israel was not allowing trucks to enter, saying there was no restriction on the trucks or the amount of aid allowed to enter Gaza.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 28, 2024
