Israel is expected to increase the scope of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip in the coming days, despite the fact that the defense establishment is aware that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and that Hamas is using the aid for its own needs. This is according to a briefing given Tuesday morning to the foreign media by Col. Elad Goren, head of the civilian department in the IDF's Coordination and Liaison Directorate.
Colonel Goren emphasized that "we are not close to the minimum of the humanitarian situation, as defined by international law. We are in contact with the international aid organizations." According to him, the Gaza Strip has sufficient water, food, electricity and medical equipment.
Regarding the medical aid entering Gaza, the Israeli officer revealed that "Hamas decides what medical equipment is taken to its terrorists and which is sent to hospitals, and when." Goren also revealed that there are many fuel reserves left in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas also controls.
Hundreds of residents of Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood left their homes holding white flags
"On the day the war broke out, the hospitals claimed they had only 24 hours of fuel left. And lo and behold, it's been a month and they're still active. Why? Because they have enough alternative energy sources. They have generators, and solar panels that allow the operation to continue. In addition, there are many diesel fuel reserves in the Gaza Strip. Individuals and international organizations have databases, and Hamas has many of them. Hamas manages the distribution of fuel according to its own considerations. Hamas operates the hospitals above ground, for its headquarters underground," Goren said.
Regarding the water supply, he said that Israel supplies 28 million cubic meters of water to the Gaza Strip every day through a pipeline that reaches the southern Gaza Strip. "You will understand the absurdity here," the Israeli officer told the foreign journalists, "They fired a rocket and hit the water line intended for them. We sent our people to the line of fire to repair the pipeline that reaches Gaza."
He noted that since the beginning of the war, 500 truckloads of humanitarian aid had entered the Gaza Strip and that the Mawasi area in the southwestern Gaza Strip was "both a safe area [from IDF attacks] and a humanitarian area for receiving aid." He also said Hamas was doing everything in its power to prevent the Gaza population from moving to the protected area.
"Hamas wants you to think there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza in order to get a ceasefire. But that won't happen. Israel will continue its military activity in an effort to harm as few non-involved civilians as possible. At the same time, it is worth remembering that thousands of Gazans took part in the massacre on October 7 and not only Hamas members," the Israeli officer stressed.
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