When help grows into Gaza during ceasefire, does they reach in need?
6 mins read

When help grows into Gaza during ceasefire, does they reach in need?

Jerusalem (AP) – two weeks after weapons weapons between Hamas and Israel came into force, help in the Gaza Strip, which gives relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass shift and devastation after 15 months of war.

But Palestinians and relief workers say it is still an upward struggle to ensure that support reaches everyone. And being big is the possibility that the fighting will resume if the ceasefire will be broken down after the first phase of the six -week.

As part of the weapons agreement, Israel said it would allow 600 auxiliary cars to Gaza every day, a big increase. Israel estimates that at least 4,200 trucks have been received every week since weapons weapons took hold.

Humanitarian groups say that support distribution is complicated by destroyed or damaged roads, Israeli inspections and the threat of unexploded bombs.

On Saturday, Samir Abu Holi, 68, woke up over a food distribution point in Jabaliya, an area in northern Gaza that raged to the ground under several Israeli offensive, the latest as the latest Cut away almost all aids for over a month.

“I have more than ten children. Everyone needs milk and food. Before weapons we used to give food difficulties, ”he said. “Today there is some relief.”

Here is a closer look at the help situation.

A wave of help

The main UN Life Medium Agency, the World Food program, said it spread more food to the Palestinians in Gaza during the first four days of a ceasefire than on average for a month of the war. Over 32,000 tonnes of support have entered Gaza since a ceasefire, the agency said last week.

Aid now enters through two intersections in the north and one in the south. Auxiliary agencies said they open bakeries and distribute high-energy biscuits, and the Hamas police have returned to the streets to help restore the order.

Before weapons weapons said the AID organizations said the delivery was complicated by armed gangs that loot the trucks, Attacks on auxiliary workersThe Severe Israeli inspections And difficulties in coordinating with Cogat, the Israeli military body that is accused of facilitating help. Israel blamed the UN and humanitarian organizations for failing to deliver help when it reached Gaza.

There is now the “political desire to make everything else work,” says Tania Hary, CEO of Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to protecting the right of the Palestinians to move freely within Gaza.

“Cogat is a quick -track response to coordination requests. It allows two intersections instead of working in the north. The well -being allows Hamas forces to drive free to stop looting … and the lack of hostilities allows aid agencies to move freely and safely, ”Hary said.

Food prices are still a challenge

Nadine Jomaa, a young woman in Bureij in central Gaza, said that the support is not freely available, and she has to buy goods on the market, where they are sold for inflated prices. Although prices fall, flour and cooking gas still cost grossly triple the amount they made before the war, according to the World Food program.

Her family only eats cheaply preserved goods. “We need more food, water, household items for the kitchen and the bathroom and women’s objects,” she said.

Although humanitarian officials have long said that the best way to prevent extortion is to flood Gaza with help, Palestinians in the north say so far that the influx seems to have only increased shady intermediaries. The inhabitants complain that there are not enough tents entering Gaza, while non-essential objects such as chocolate, nuts and soda are suddenly omnipotent.

Ahmed Qamar, 34, who returned to live in the ruins of his former home in Jabaliya, said that his area has seen only a few dozen help cars.

“Hundreds of families here sleep outdoors and in the cold,” he said. “We need electricity and protection, and in the meantime the markets are flooded with chocolate and cigarettes.”

Although relief workers say that the Israeli inspection process has been accelerated, it is still challenging to get certain types of support for Gaza. Some articles are considered to be “dual uses”, with those from Gaza due to concerns that they can be diverted by militants for military purposes.

Some hospitals and desalination plants still have fuel shortages. And on Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli officials of preventing the delivery of medical deliveries and reconstruction machines.

According to a list circulated to humanitarian groups of cogat and shared with associated press, desalals and water collection units, storage units, tools, tent kit, ovens, water -resistant clothing and equipment for protection for protection requires all “pre -approval” before entering Gaza. Large tents, sleeping bags, portable toilets, heat pads and vaccines are cleared to enter the strip without Israeli approval.

“While the support enters higher numbers, we also know that these restrictions on essential objects remain,” says Sophie Driscoll, communications manager for the International Rescue Committee in the Palestinian territories.

Cogat acknowledged that some objects are kept on the list of double uses but said it still allows them to Gaza after screening. The agency said that tents are not considered double uses, and Israel has allowed tens of thousands to Gaza in recent weeks “without limitation.” It also said that Israel has expanded the hours are open and allowed road repairs in Gaza.

“When it comes to distribution of support in Gaza, Israel does not control the situation inside,” Cogat said.

Destroyed roads, unexploded order

Roads have been severely injured by the war and unexploded bombs hills the landscape. The UN estimates that 5% to 10% of all ammunition fell in Gaza have failed to detonate, making the territory potentially dangerous for civilians and relief workers.

UNMAS, the UN agency that handled unexploded ordnance, said that since a ceasefire took grip, humanitarian convoys and civilians reported that they found large aircraft bombs, mortar and rifle grenades.

When they return home, many Palestinians live in areas where the water network has been destroyed. It makes dehydration and Disease spread Due to poor sanitary conditions and limited medical care a threat.

Speakers from southern Gaza, Jonathan Crickx, communications manager at UNICEF, reminded being on a road where “thousands and thousands of children and families went.”

“I saw them with nothing,” he said, “just the clothes they wear their backs.”