Israel began allowing a small number of aid trucks into Gaza this week after nearly three months of blocking access to food and medicine for Palestinians — but with the Israeli military’s increased bombardment of the occupied territory, experts warn against seeing the trickle of humanitarian assistance as a mercy.
For the past 11 weeks, the Israeli military maintained a total blockade of all humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which has been rendered almost unlivable due to troops destroying infrastructure meant to provide food, clean water, shelter and adequate health care. Israeli forces continued to bomb Gaza during the blockade — killing hundreds, worsening an existing starvation crisis and preventing doctors from treating victims with the necessary medical supplies.
After facing intense international backlash and threats from some allies, Israel said it will allow a “minimal” amount of aid into Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli defense agency that oversees aid deliveries, said that a whopping five trucks entered Gaza on Monday, the first to enter the territory since March 2. Two of those trucks were filled with shrouds, according to Gaza-based journalist Motasem Dalloul.
COGAT said that it allowed 93 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Tuesday, filled with food, medical supplies and baby formula. But United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric refuted the claim, confirming that only a few dozen trucks entered the territory that day — none of which actually reached Palestinians, due to the Israeli military forcing aid workers to reload supplies onto another truck before they could bring them to distribution points.
