GENEVA: The United Nations took aim Tuesday at Israel’s months-long block on bringing tents into the Gaza Strip, despite continual displacement orders issued to civilians in the devastated territory.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said shelter items had been banned from entering Gaza for about five months — a period when more than 700,000 people had been displaced or re-displaced.
He said the Israelis could classify tents as “dual use” because they considered tent poles to have a potential military purpose.
Israel announced earlier this month that it intended to take over Gaza City and issued another displacement order to residents on Saturday.
Laerke said the order had not changed the situation on the ground and tents were still not being allowed into the territory.
