The NGO Oxfam accused Israel in a report on Monday of “deliberately”
preventing
the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, whether food but also medical equipment, in violation of international humanitarian law.
“Despite its responsibility as the occupying power, Israel's practices and decisions continue to systematically and deliberately block and prevent any meaningful international humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip
,” Oxfam wrote in its report.
The NGO denounces in particular “unfairly ineffective”
aid inspection protocols
, which create delays of
“twenty days on average”
to allow trucks to enter the Palestinian territory, or even
“
attacks
against personnel humanitarian organizations, aid structures and humanitarian convoys
.
She also criticizes the
“daily”
blocking of certain equipment qualified as
“dual-use”
, material considered to be able to be used for military purposes.
Oxfam thus explains that water bags or water analysis kits were rejected
“without reason”
from one of its shipments, before finally being approved later.
Access restrictions for aid workers
Certain equipment essential for the work of its staff, such as communication and protection equipment or generators to power its offices, are also subject to
“restrictions”
.
The NGO still points to
“access restrictions”
for humanitarian workers, particularly in the north of the Gaza Strip.
According to the NGO, 2,874 trucks entered the territory in February, or
“only 20% of the daily aid”
which entered before October 7.
Israel launched a vast military operation in Gaza in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack on its soil on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count. based on official Israeli data.
Since then, more than 31,600 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory, according to Hamas, while 1.7 million inhabitants, out of a population of 2.4 million, have been displaced according to the UN.
“The conditions we have observed in Gaza are worse than catastrophic
,” says Oxfam, with the territory on the brink of famine.
In an attempt to deliver more aid, food airdrops were carried out and the international community began delivering supplies by sea.