A small boy in sandals searches for food in the rubbish heap in Gaza. In scorching heat, with a lack of clean water and food, living conditions have become almost unlivable after eight months of war, several aid organizations say. But the emergency aid is not forthcoming. Israel has systematically acted to block emergency aid, say 13 major aid organisations. A young boy looks for food in the garbage heap. Photo: Reuters – Israel changes the rules for what is legal Dina Hovland is chairwoman of Doctors Without Borders. – It has always been difficult to get emergency aid, but now there is almost nothing. From May 6, we have not received a plaster once. – Why not? – We are ready to send it in, but Israel is constantly changing the rules for what is allowed to be brought in. It is challenging. Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council says that they have 47 local employees in Gaza who have themselves been displaced from their homes. – Israel, as an occupying power, has an obligation to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the occupied population are met, writes Low to news. – Despite these commitments, Israel continues to prevent the opening of all land crossings to Gaza to deliver aid. According to Low, the crossings are opened sporadically, and limited aid has been able to come in. – Repeated and ongoing displacement of civilians in Gaza makes it difficult to respond effectively and prevents us from reaching those who need it, writes Low. At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, several Israeli activists try to prevent emergency aid from entering. The activists also stood at Ashod port, south of Tel Aviv. Photo: AP Israel has repeatedly denied that they are blocking emergency aid and has accused the UN and other aid groups of being the ones who fail to deliver the aid. David Mencer, spokesperson for the Israeli government also claims that 211 trucks with emergency aid entered Gaza from Kerem Shalom. – In addition, eight trucks came from the Gaza side of the Erez border crossing and 103 from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, Mencer said. In a joint letter, the aid organizations write that Israel has only arranged for 53 of the 115 shipments the organizations have planned. According to the organization Oxfam, they spent five weeks transporting 1,600 packages of food from Jordan to Gaza, a journey that “shouldn’t take more than six hours”. Stepped up attack – Where are we going, everyone is asking. And nobody knows the answer, says Aya Mohammed from Rafah, who the news agency Reuters spoke to via text message. Israel has recently stepped up attacks, both from the air and on the ground. Many Palestinians have fled to the south of Gaza, where there were supposed to be “safe zones” for civilians according to the Israeli defense. The death toll has risen over the weekend. Several mourn family members in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. Photo: Reuters At the same time, Israel has bombed both central and southern Gaza over the weekend and Monday. Aid organizations say the “safe zones” Israel has set up have now turned into “active combat zones”. In addition, they come out strongly against Israel’s bombing of UN schools. Israel has bombed five schools At the weekend, Israel bombed several schools in the south of Gaza. The schools are run by the UN organization for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, and many had sought refuge there with makeshift tents. Saturday’s attack in Khan Younis is one of the bloodiest in weeks. Photos and videos from the attack show people frantically trying to rescue the wounded and dead from the flames and smoke after the attack. The UN school in Nuseirat is one of the schools that Israel bombed in recent days. Photo: AFP The Israeli army (IDF) claims that the building was used as a hiding place for Hamas and was used as a base for attacks aimed at Israel. The IDF claims it has confirmed that Rafa Salama was killed in the attack on the Al-Mawasi camp on Saturday. Hamas, for its part, denies that any military personnel were hit by the attack. – The ground shook under my feet and the dust and sand rose to the sky. I saw dismembered bodies everywhere. I have never seen anything like it, Mohammed said. Published 16.07.2024, at 17.08
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