Does Israel permit humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip?
Even during the military operation, massive amounts of humanitarian aid entered Gaza. Already before the end of the fighting, 40,000 tons of humanitarian aid had entered the Gaza Strip via Israel. The ICRC sent Israel a letter of thanks for its assistance. Now, with the end of the fighting, Israel is interested not only in continuing to facilitate the entry of aid, but also in helping with Gaza’s reconstruction, in full coordination with the international bodies involved. One of the reasons that the aid did not always reach the civilian population in need despite Israel’s best efforts was because Hamas confiscated it. This has happened regularly over the past year (in February 2008, the Jordanian Red Crescent condemned Hamas for confiscating an entire aid shipment from Jordan), and it continues to occur. Since the operation, there have been a growing number of media reports (most recently, from Jordan again) concerning the confiscation of aid as well as about violent attacks, including
