UN: Aid is amassing at Gaza crossings because Israel not allowing drivers to pick it up

Responding to Israeli accusations that the United Nations is failing to pick up humanitarian aid that has been amassing on the Gazan side of the border, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that Israeli authorities haven’t been giving the necessary approvals for UN staff to even reach that assistance, let alone be able to pick it up and distribute it.

“The Kerem Shalom Crossing is not a McDonald’s drive-through where we just pull up and pick up what we’ve ordered,” Dujarric says during a briefing.

“To collect supplies that have reached any of the Israeli crossings around Gaza — all of which are fenced off and heavily guarded — drivers need multiple access approvals as well as a pause in the bombing and for the iron gates [at the crossing] to slide open,” adds the UN spokesperson. “We have to be allowed to come in with our own trucks. The goods have to switch from one truck to another. It’s a very lengthy procedure.”

“There are tremendous bureaucratic impediments. There are tremendous security impediments, and frankly, there’s a lack of willingness to allow us to do our work,” he adds.

Even in cases where the UN is able to reach the aid and distribute it, “all too often, civilians approaching our trucks are shot at or trampled while trying to get food,” he notes. “We must get reliable assurances that troops would not engage or be present along the routes of our convoys.”

The UN has recognized that an increasing number of its convoys have been looted by desperate Gazans, but it argues that only surging aid into and throughout the Strip will adequately address the problem.

Responding to Dujarric’s comments, COGAT — the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza tells The Times of Israel that it has made efforts to “improve the collection and distribution of aid from crossings, including increasing the number of access points and operating hours, formulating joint plans with the UN, and more.”

“Despite these efforts, a significant portion of the trucks remain uncollected,” COGAT says, insisting that it will continue working to faciliate the entry of aid into the Strip in accordance with international law.