ISRAEL is violating the terms of the ceasefire by not allowing the agreed minimum amount of aid to enter the enclave, Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement yesterday.
The deal allowed for the passage of 600 aid trucks daily, at a minimum, including 50 fuel trucks, as well as 60,000 mobile units and 200,000 tents, electric generators and their spare parts, solar panels and batteries.
‘The amount of aid that entered the Gaza Strip is still far from the minimum required,’ the statement said, as 8,500 trucks have entered the Strip since the agreement went into effect 20 days ago, instead of the required 12,000.
Additionally, 2,916 trucks reached northern Gaza instead of 6,000.
The aid getting in was mostly food, the statement said, while aid for shelter did not reach 10 per cent of the agreed amount. Similarly, 15 fuel trucks entered Gaza instead of 50, it added.
Gaza’s 2.3 million residents endured another brutally cold night last night as fierce storms tore through the Strip, destroying the already fragile tents that many now call home.
With the arrival of daylight, people scramble to salvage what remains of their shelters, attempting to repair them amid the ongoing storms.
For the third consecutive day yesterday, a strong low front, accompanied by intense storms and heavy rainfall, continued to ravage Palestine, including Gaza, according to meteorological reports.
The makeshift tents, some barely standing, are the last remaining refuge for countless families who lost their homes following 15 months of Israeli attacks, which have left them with no alternative shelter.
Residents described Thursday night as ‘the hardest and most difficult’ they’ve ever experienced, recounting how the strength of the storms made their already dire circumstances even worse.
‘The mind cannot fathom the hardships we faced,’ said one.
Despite their tents being flooded, torn and scattered by the winds, those who lost their homes and the last of their means of shelter remain defiant, renewing their rejection of US calls to seize Gaza and forcibly displace them.
‘The Palestinians are like fish, and Gaza is their sea. If they leave, they die. They will remain steadfast on their land, despite the displacement and suffering,’ another said.
