Palestinian Officials Accuse Israel of Obstructing Aid to Gaza
(AWP) - The spokesman for the Gaza Borders and Crossings Authority, Hisham Adwan, said that the amount of aid entering the Strip is far below the needs of displaced Palestinians, and does not exceed one-fifth of the aid trucks which used to enter Gaza before the start of the Israeli war last October.
Adwan said, “As to the issue of aid entering the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan, it remains the same since the beginning of the war until this moment. It is at a minimum and does not meet the significant needs of the Gaza Strip, especially after all this destruction and displacement from the north to the south.”
“We need the largest number of trucks to enter the territory, especially in the holy month of Ramadan. We are talking about the entry of approximately 100 trucks daily up to this moment. These 100 trucks represent one-fifth of the amount that used to enter before the war.”
He continued, “Therefore, the occupation’s restrictions on entry are great and severe. We call on the international community to enable the entry of the largest number of trucks to provide relief to the people in the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinian official highlighted similar problems with aid trucks entering north of the strip and Gaza City, which are being targeted in various ways.
He said, “There are attacks on trucks entering the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City. Citizens gathering to receive this aid are also targeted, resulting in insufficient numbers entering to provide relief to the people, especially amid the famine that has struck the Gaza Strip, especially in the north and the [Gaza] city.”
Meanwhile, Raed Al-Nims, spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, confirmed that “The aid and the number of trucks that are being brought in have recently witnessed a significant decline. This is due to the inspection procedures carried out by the Israeli authorities, and also due to attacks by [Israeli] settlers on convoys trying to enter Gaza.”
The Palestinian official called for “uniting and intensifying efforts to bring in more aid and expanding the scope of humanitarian, health and relief aid so that we can provide medical and relief services, especially food, to the groups affected by this aggression.”