50 trucks turned back as protestors block humanitarian aid to Gaza for second day

‘No aid goes through until the last of the hostages returns, don’t supply the enemy,’ said the protesters.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

For the second day in a row, protestors have blocked the Kerem Shalom Crossing and have prevented humanitarian aid trucks from reaching Gaza.

Since the protests began on Wednesday, only nine aid trucks have passed through the crossing and 50 more were turned back to Egypt because of the obstruction created by the demonstrations.

“No aid goes through until the last of the hostages returns, don’t supply the enemy,” said the protesters.

Many protestors criticized the recent rejected hostage deal negotiated between Egypt, Qatar and the United States which called for the release of hostages if Israel ceased military operations.

A few signs said, “Qatar is the factor delaying the return of the abductees,” while others read: “Opposes another hostage deal.”

Tzufit Liebman, the sister-in-law of the abducted Elyakim Liebman, said at the protest, “We did the impossible, we stopped these trucks.”

She added, “This humanitarian aid is a moral failure. When we don’t know where our families are and if they are alive at all, they receive monetary aid.”

In an interview at yesterday’s protest, Tzufit said, “I came here to protest the terrible injustice that the hostages receive half a piece of bread a day at best. We don’t even know if our Elyakim is alive,” she said.

She continued, “We believe and hope that he is alive, but we have not received any signs of life from him and, on the other hand, the Hamas terrorists and the civilians who cover up the crime and do not give any information about the hostages receive convoys of trucks with food, equipment and medicine.”

“We will continue to come here until our hostages return home.”

Some demonstrators were stopped at a roadblock, but kept on walking to the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Danny Elgarat, a former Ashdod police commander whose brother Itzik Elgarat and brother-in-law Alex Danzig were kidnapped from Nir Oz.

“Nobody can stop us… from blocking the trucks in Gaza. Because the prime minister didn’t do it, so we will do it instead of him,” he said.

Israel began allowing humanitarian aid to pass to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing starting on December 15th after permitting only the Rafah border to be used up to that point.

demonstrationsGaza hostageshumanitarian aidKerem Shalom Crossing