The Israeli authorities are hindering the sending of humanitarian aid to Gaza using “arbitrary and contradictory” criteria. This is what CNN claims and says after hearing from over twenty humanitarian workers. The goods rejected by Cogat, the Israeli coordination body for the Palestinian territories responsible for routing aid supplies, include anesthetics and anesthesia machines, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, water purification systems, health kits, sleeping bags, anti-tumor drugs and even other appointments, the channel reports. “It's a deliberately opaque and ambiguous system – the position of a humanitarian officer – you can get the green light from Cogat, but then the police, finance or customs turn the truck away.” According to sources, over 15,000 tonnes of aid are waiting, half of which is food, for permission to import into the Gaza Strip. Cogat did not respond to CNN's requests for comment, but recently reiterated
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The Israeli controls are aimed at preventing the import of goods that could also have military use and thus benefit Hamas. But Janti Soeripto, president of Save The Children in the US, says he has “never seen a supply chain that should be simple become so complicated…The scale of the barriers to humanitarian assistance is unprecedented,” according to Soeripto Sleeping bags were rejected because they had zippers and hygiene kits because they contained nail clippers. Another source reported sleeping bags being rejected because they were military green. And while dates generally pass inspection, one shipment was blocked after the seeds appeared suspicious during the shipment's X-ray examination.
Also read: Gaza, several children are starving. WHO warning: “Imminent famine”