The United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan are leading a coalition of more than 50 countries and organisations that is calling on Israel to immediately allow shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health supplies into Gaza, according to the Times of Israel’s live blog of 13 November.
The signatories warn that hypothermia and disease are growing risks as winter arrives for displaced families living in tents and damaged buildings.
Israel rejected the thrust of the criticism, saying that attacks on COGAT, the Defence Ministry body that oversees aid, distract from Hamas’s responsibility. The outlet reported that Israel is holding firm on restrictions on so-called dual-use items, which it says could be diverted for military purposes.
Winter conditions have already caused hardship in the territory. Earlier this month, Hamas-run authorities said rain flooded about 70,000 tents in Gaza within 12 hours, a figure we reported at the time and which we could not independently verify.
Reporting note: this account relies on a single live-blog summary of the appeal. The wording of the statement, the full list of signatories and the actual volume of aid entering Gaza were not checked against primary documents, and each side’s claims about aid and restrictions remain contested.
Photo: Jelger Groeneveld / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
