It is an infinite list that sometimes grows. Other times, it shrinks. The lack of clarity dominates it. Those who consult it do so with anguish. It is the catalog of humanitarian aid items that Israel is not allowing into the Gaza Strip. As words fail to capture the catastrophe unfolding in the enclave after almost six months of war, Israeli authorities keep adding new lifeline items to this list, albeit indirectly. Miriam Marmur, director of public defense at Gisha, a group defending freedom of movement in the occupied territories, calls out the confusion: it is very hard to know which items are truly banned.
Tubes, spare parts, generators, solar panels, water filters, temporary shelter equipment such as camping frames, communications gear and some types of medical equipment are goods authorities have blocked at various points in the past six months. Antennas, dates, fiber cables, sleeping bags, balls, wheelchairs, crutches or scissors are added to the never-ending list. Among the unresolved gaps are oxygen cylinders, anesthetics and anesthesia machines, ventilators, cancer medicines, maternity or hygiene kits, X-ray machines, powdered drinks, flashlights, stretchers, insulin pens for children with diabetes and urine bottles.
“Aid on the other side”
“Entry works under an even more arbitrary regime,” notes Vicente Raimundo, director of international cooperation and humanitarian action at Save the Children, one of many organizations affected by these restrictions. Officially, Israeli authorities insist there is “no limit” to aid entering Gaza. But field reality tells a different story. The United Nations and several international bodies have condemned Israel for hindering access by imposing obstacles during inspection and distribution in Gaza. “Inspections of trucks carrying humanitarian aid are slower, longer and more inquisitive, and the reasons permits are denied make little sense. For many products, this makes an already terrible situation even worse,” he explains to this newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Gaza situation continues to deteriorate. Nearly the entire Gazan population, about 2.2 million people, faces food insecurity, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report by the UN and other aid groups. More than 870,000 are in emergency, and around 670,000 are in catastrophic conditions. At the same time, thousands of Gazans are getting less than half of the food they need to meet minimum requirements. “People are dying because they do not receive the help they need, and that help is on the other side” of Rafah crossing to Egypt and Kerem Shalom to Israel, Raimundo says.
“Dual-use items”
Late last month, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that in Egypt, across Rafah crossing, about 1,000 trucks carrying 15,000 tons of food still await Israeli approval to enter Gaza. “The problem is not a lack of will, mandate or resources; it is that we are not allowed to do our job,” adds Save the Children’s representative, frustrated. Before the war, around 500 trucks entered daily. In recent weeks, an average of 159 trucks have been allowed in each day, and only 111 carried food alone. The UN World Food Programme says about 300 trucks are needed daily to meet current basic needs.
Each truck undergoes various checks along its route. If any item is rejected, tons of aid must return to the start and the process must begin again. “Every small delay in getting a truck through is truly deadly,” Marmur of Gisha emphasizes. “Israel is blocking the entry of certain items inconsistently and opaquely, arguing that some civilian goods could be used for military purposes,” she explains to this newspaper. These are the so‑called “dual-use items.” Yet the definition used by Israel appears broader than what international norms recognize, she adds.
2008 list
“Israel is making decisions that can hardly be explained and which contribute to the chaos unfolding in Gaza,” Marmur observes. The few trucks that reach Gaza, especially in the north, do so at their own risk. They are often attacked by desperate crowds seeking food, by armed groups, or by Israeli troops. “This chain of problems harming people in dire need is a violation of Israel’s obligation as an occupying power to allow in what is necessary,” she adds. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) did not respond to requests for explanations from this newspaper.
International organizations responsible for aid flow to Gaza follow the sole public list of dual-use items, a 2008 document from the early blockade period that enumerates ten categories such as telecommunications, electronics, advanced materials, propulsion and information security. Yet experience guides their actions as well. If a convoy with dates was rejected, planners tend not to include those items in subsequent trucks, even when they are calorie‑dense and essential during Ramadan. The urgency is immense. “Any delay can make the difference between life and death,” Marmur concludes.