Jerusalem-Two weeks after the entry into force of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the aid is flooded in the Gaza Strip, relieving a territory suffering from hunger, mass movement and devastation after 15 months war.
But Palestinians and humanitarian workers say it is always a difficult battle to make sure that the help reaches everyone. And an imminent building is the possibility that the fighting resumes if the ceasefire is breaking down after the first phase of six weeks.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel said that it would allow 600 Gaza aid trucks every day, a major increase. Israel estimates that at least 4,200 trucks have entered every week since the ceasefire has set up.
Humanitarian groups claim that the distribution of aid is complicated by destroyed or damaged roads, Israeli inspections and the threat of unplodced bombs.
On Saturday, Samir Abu Holi, 68, monitored a point of food distribution in Jabaliya, an area in the north of Gaza razed on the ground during several Israeli offensives, the most recent of which cut almost all aid for more than one month.
“I have more than 10 children. All need milk and food. Before the ceasefire, we used to make food with difficulties, “he said. “Today, there is a little relief.”
Here is a more in -depth examination of the aid situation.
A wave of help
The main food agency of the United Nations, the World Food Program, said that it had dispersed more food to the Palestinians in Gaza during the first four days of the ceasefire than it did, on average , during the whole month of the war. More than 32,000 tonnes of aid have entered Gaza from the ceasefire, the agency said last week.
Aid now enters two level crossings in the North and one to the south. The aid agencies said they opened bakeries and have high energy cookies, and Hamas police returned to the street to help restore order.
Before the ceasefire, assistance organizations said that delivery was complicated by armed gangs plundering trucks, attacks on humanitarian workers, Ardued Israeli inspections and coordinated difficulties with COGAT, organization Israeli military responsible for facilitating aid. Israel has blamed the UN and humanitarian organizations for having failed to provide help once it has reached Gaza.
There is now the “political will to make everything else work,” said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to the protection of the Palestinian law to move freely within Gaza.
“Cogat is accelerating responses to coordination requests. It allows two level crossings instead of operating in the North. The ceasefire allows Hamas forces to operate freely to stop looting … and the lack of hostilities allows the aid agencies to move freely and safe, “said Hary.
Food prices are always a challenge
Nadine Jomaa, a young woman from Bureij in the center of Gaza, said that help was not freely available and that she must buy goods on the market, where they are sold for inflated prices. Although prices drop, flour and cooking gas still cost roughly the triple of the amount they have made before the war, according to the World Food Program.
His family only eats cheap cans. “We need more food, water, household items for cooking and bathrooms and women’s items,” she said.
Although humanitarian officials have long declared that the best way to prevent extortion is to flood aid, the Palestinians of the North say that, so far, the influx seems to have done only stimulating intermediaries dark. Residents complain that there are not enough tents entering Gaza while non -essential items such as chocolate, nuts and soda are suddenly omnipresent.
Ahmed Qamar, 34, who returned to live in the ruins of his former house in Jabaliya, said that his region had seen only a few dozen rescue trucks.
“Hundreds of families here sleep in the open air and in the cold,” he said. “We need electricity and shelter, and while waiting for the markets are flooded with chocolate and cigarettes.”
Although humanitarian workers say that the Israeli inspection process has accelerated, obtaining certain types of Gaza aid is still difficult. Certain articles are considered to be “double use”, to intervene from Gaza due to concerns, they could be diverted by militants for military purposes.
Some desalination hospitals and factories still have fuel shortages. And Hamas accused Israeli officials on Sunday of hampering the delivery of medical supplies and reconstruction machines.
According to a list broadcast to humanitarian groups by Cogat and shared with the Associated Press, desalination and water collection devices, storage units, tools, tent kits, ovens, clothing and equipment Water resistant for refuges construction teams all require “pre-approval” before entering Gaza. Large tents, sleeping bags, portable toilets, heating pads and vaccines are cleaned to enter the band without Israeli approval.
“While the aid is in higher number, we also know that these restrictions on essential elements persist,” said Sophie Driscll, communications manager for the International Rescue Committee in the Palestinian Territories.
Cogat recognized by keeping certain articles on the double -use list, but said that this still allowing them to Gaza after screening. The agency said that tents are not considered to be double use and that Israel has authorized tens of thousands of people in Gaza in recent weeks “without restriction”. He also said that Israel has extended the hours open and road repairs authorized inside Gaza.
“Regarding the distribution of assistance inside Gaza, Israel does not control the situation inside,” said Cogat.
Destroyed roads, not exploded ammunition
The roads were strongly damaged by war and unploded bombs litter the landscape. The UN estimates that 5% to 10% of all the ammunition has dropped to Gaza has not exploded, which makes the territory potentially perilous for civilians and humanitarian workers.
UNMAS, the United Nations agency to manage unplodced ammunition, said that since the ceasefire has been settling in, humanitarian convoys and civilians reported having found large bombs of planes, mortars and rifle grenades.
As they return home, many Palestinians live in areas where the water network has been destroyed. This makes dehydration and propagation of diseases due to poor health conditions and limited medical care a threat.
Speaking of Southern Gaza, Jonathan Crickx, head of communications at UNICEF, remembers being on a road where “thousands and thousands of children and families were walking”.
“I saw them without anything,” he said, “only the clothes they wear on his back.”
