Israeli military says hundreds of truckloads of international aid are waiting idly at Gaza crossing point, rebutting European accusations Israel is limiting entry of aid to Gaza.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Israel pushed back Tuesday after three European governments accused the Jewish state of blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Britain, Germany, and France penned a letter to the Israeli government, demanding Jerusalem increase the amount of aid – in particular fuel – to the Gaza Strip ahead of the start of the winter season, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced via X.
“Together Britain, France, and Germany have written to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Lammy tweeted.
“Israel must implement the UN’s winter plan now: send equipment to guard against cold & flooding, give access to fuel, repair vital infrastructure, and get aid in.”
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oren Marmorstein fired back, calling the European governments’ accusations against Israel and failure to condemn ongoing terror attacks “disappointing.”
“It is disappointing that the foreign ministers of the E3 (Britain, France and Germany) failed to address the October 7 massacre and the daily attacks on Israeli civilians since then in their letter,” Marmorstein said.
“Israel is facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and does not impose any restrictions on the quantity of aid entering the Strip.”
Marmorstein said that despite Israel’s willingness to permit the entry of the aid, international organizations have failed to do so, in part because of looting by Hamas-backed gangs.
In a tweet directed at United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Marmorstein wrote Tuesday: “Israel is facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and does not impose any restrictions on the quantity of aid entering the Strip.”
“The ones failing to distribute the aid are international organizations, due to Hamas looting and the politicization of humanitarian efforts led by Secretary-General Guterres.”
Earlier this week, the UN relief agency UNRWA announced that it had halted aid transfers into Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing – the primary entry point into the Gaza Strip.
The agency’s chief said the route through Gaza was not safe, noting that multiple aid convoys had been raided recently by armed gangs.
The Israeli Defense Ministry on Tuesday also furnished data regarding the quantity of international aid accumulating at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
According to the ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), there are roughly 780 truckloads of international aid waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing, waiting to be transferred by aid workers into Gaza.
COGAT also said that 138 aid trucks entered Gaza from Israel’s three Gaza crossings on Monday.