Israel allowed 100 aid trucks of flour, baby formula, and medicine into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said. But UN representatives said distribution issues have to date kept the aid from reaching those who need it most.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had signaled that Israel would entertain a temporary truce to ensure the safe release of hostages but maintained that the military operation to secure complete control of Gaza would go on.
After an 11-week siege on material supplies into Gaza, Israeli troops reported that 98 aid trucks entered the territory on Monday and Tuesday together. Even with these deliveries, aid officials and Gaza bakeries stated that the essential provisions, such as flour, still have not reached soup kitchens, hospitals, and markets.
“None of this assistance and that’s a very small number of trucks has reached the Gaza population,” World Food Programme country director Antoine Renard said. The blockade has forced many Gazans to struggle to survive amid mounting pressure on Israel’s government from around the world. A leader of an opposition party said the situation could turn Israel into a “pariah state.”
Thousands of tons of food and other basic commodities are stranded along Gaza’s border crossings, and a quarter of the population is at risk of famine. Mahmoud al-Haw, who lives in Gaza, recounted long delays just to get small servings of lentil soup for his family.
UN officials credited the delay to security issues that have prevented supplies from being bottled up at the Kerem Shalom crossing logistics depot. But by Wednesday night, there were indications that movement of aid could get better. Transport operators confirmed that scores of trucks with flour and nutritional supplements had arrived in southern Rafah, and trucks began arriving in central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah.
Israel’s blockade, since March, seeks to block Hamas from re-channeling aid into military use, a claim Hamas disputes. With a worldwide international glare, Israel has permitted limited aid shipments pending the development of an alternative US-backed distribution system by private contractors a move the UN refuses to support, citing issues regarding neutrality.
