2023-12-12 06:54:33
The sources explained that the Israeli side notified the Egyptian side of the possibility of directing trucks to the Kerem Shalom crossing starting on Tuesday morning, in parallel with the continuation of work at the Al-Auja crossing, to relieve pressure on the latter.
The Kerem Shalom crossing is located 5 kilometers south of the Rafah crossing, and has been closed since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th.
Since the start of sending humanitarian aid to Gaza on October 21, Israel has placed a series of obstacles in the way of its movement, the most important of which is the requirement to send aid first from the Rafah crossing to the Al-Awja commercial crossing between Egypt and Israel, to conduct examinations and inspections, and then send the aid to the Palestinian side of the crossing. Rafah once more, a trip that takes regarding 100 kilometers.
Movement is usually disrupted for several days in the vicinity of the Al-Awja crossing due to the accumulation of trucks, due to the slow pace of inspection procedures, which raises the discontent of Egypt, which accuses Israel of deliberately placing obstacles to the humanitarian operation in Gaza, as part of its policy of collective punishment once morest the Palestinians.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) calls on the international community to open all Gaza Strip crossings to aid movement, and to hold accountable “those who intentionally violate international humanitarian law and use aid as a weapon of war.”
As the process of sending humanitarian aid to Gaza entered its eighth week, the total aid received by the Palestinian side amounted to regarding 3,700 tons of food, medicine, water, blankets, and tents, but it remains a drop in the ocean of the actual needs of the residents of the Strip, which is suffering from a catastrophic humanitarian situation, according to UNRWA.
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