IDF sends aid to Gaza, Hamas refuses it

The IDF sent 53 tons of aid to Gaza in an attempt to avert a humanitarian crisis generated by Hamas. 

By: World Israel News Staff

The IDF ushered into Gaza six trucks full of humanitarian aid and medical supplies through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, in coordination with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

This week alone, COGAT, the IDF unit responsible for implementing government policy in Judea and Samaria and vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, facilitated the transfer of 53 tons of medical equipment to Gaza.

“COGAT will continue to work with the international community to ensure the fast and efficient coordination of humanitarian goods to Gaza,” it stated.

Four of the trucks were sent by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and two belonged to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund).

In order to increase the humanitarian aid, two trucks with medical supplies were transferred by the IDF to Gaza, but Hamas refused to accept them and they turned back.

The aid provided by Israel, which was rejected by Hamas, included critical medical supplies, 20 examination tables, 100 patients’ nightshirts, 20 physical therapy treadmills, 25 IV poles, approximately 85,000 disinfection pads and over 12,500 bandages, among other necessities.

In total, some 40 pallets of medical equipment were passed into Gaza.

The IDF stated fuel would be supplied as well.

“The humanitarian aid transferred this week to the Gaza Strip represents the different policies that exist between those who take part in terror activity and the innocent population in Gaza who needs the humanitarian aid,” the IDF stated.

Israel opened the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza on Tuesday and enabled the passage of goods into the Strip, despite the damage repeatedly caused by Palestinian rioters to the site.

Israel Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman approved the IDF’s recommendation to reopen the crossing for transportion of goods into Gaza on Tuesday, despite the fact that Palestinians set fire to the site during the Hamas-led massive riots on Monday, marking the third time in two weeks Palestinians torched the crossing.

The fuel depot at the crossing, the only line running into Gaza, will remain closed until the damage caused by the riots, estimated at some NIS 30 million, is repaired. Officials say it could take months to repair the damage.

Israel is working to avert a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, a possible outcome of the mass riots on Israel’s southern border.