Gaza Strip: Israeli Restrictions Denounced

March 12, 2024 Hour: 4:11 pm

On Tuesday, the UN agency charged with supporting the Palestinians denounced that the people of Gaza are now dependent on humanitarian aid to survive, but Israel has increased restrictions on the entry of goods into the territory.

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The general commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, denounced in his X account that the troops of that country refused the entry of a truck with vital items.

The vehicle was rejected because it was carrying scissors used in medical kits for children, he revealed. The medical scissors are now added to a long list of banned items that Israeli authorities classify as “dual-use,” the official criticized.

Lazzarini detailed that “the list includes basic and life-saving items: from anesthetics, solar panels, oxygen cylinders and ventilators, to water purification tablets and anti-cancer drugs.”

“There is a need to facilitate and expedite the clearance of humanitarian supplies and the delivery of basic and critical items, the lives of two million people depend on it, there is no time to lose,” he stressed.

#Gaza: an entire population depends on humanitarian assistance for survival. Very little comes in & restrictions increase.

A truck loaded with aid has just been turned back because it had scissors used in children’s medical kits.

Medical scissors are now added to a long list of… pic.twitter.com/Obpsi9bVkV

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini)
March 11, 2024

This week UNRWA also denounced the growing famine in the Gaza Strip and accused Israel of preventing the entry of food into the territory.

“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza, the situation in the north is tragic, where aid is being denied by land despite repeated appeals,” the institution stated in X.

UNRWA is under fire following the indictment of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against 12 of its 13,000 employees for allegedly participating in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) operation last October 7.

Both the agency and the UN announced an immediate investigation, but many Western countries, among them the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, suspended their funding, although the allegations have not yet been proven.

Days ago, Lazzarini warned that dismantling the agency would be short-sighted because of its serious consequences. “The implementation of this plan is already underway with the destruction of our infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip,” he said.