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Men carry bags of flour after humanitarian aid was distributed in Gaza City on 17 March 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (AFP)
- Oxfam accused Israel of intentionally preventing the delivery
of aid into Gaza during its war with Hamas, in violation of international
humanitarian law. - Israel was defying an order by the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) in January to boost aid in Gaza, and was failing its legal
responsibility to protect people in land it occupies. - Some 1.7 million Palestinians, 75 percent of Gaza’s
population, are at risk of famine, according to Oxfam.
Anti-poverty
charity Oxfam on Monday accused Israel of intentionally preventing the delivery
of aid into Gaza during its war with Hamas, in violation of international
humanitarian law.
The
non-governmental organisation said in a report that Israel continued to
“systematically and deliberately block and undermine any meaningful
international humanitarian response” in the Palestinian territory.
It alleged
that Israel was defying an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in
January to boost aid in Gaza, and was failing its legal responsibility to
protect people in land it occupies.
“The
ICJ order should have shocked Israeli leaders to change course, but since then,
conditions in Gaza have actually worsened,” said Oxfam Middle East and
North Africa director Sally Abi Khalil.
Khalil said:
Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it. We believe that Israel is failing to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide.
Oxfam said
that “unjustifiably inefficient” inspection rules were causing aid
trucks trying to get into Gaza to be stuck in queues for 20 days on average.
It said
that Israeli authorities arbitrarily reject “dual-use” items –
civilian goods that also have potential military use, such as backup generators
and torches.
Oxfam said:
The list of rejected items is overwhelming and ever-changing.
It recalled
that water bags and water testing kits in an Oxfam shipment were rejected with
no reason provided, before later being permitted entry.
The group
also denounced “attacks on aid workers, humanitarian facilities and aid
convoys” and “access restrictions” for relief staff,
particularly to northern Gaza.
READ | Israel army says operation under way in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital
Oxfam noted
that 2 874 trucks entered Gaza in February, which represented “20 percent
of the daily average” before the deadliest-ever Middle East conflict was
triggered by Hamas on 7 October.
Israel has
defended its policies as it pursues its stated goal of destroying Hamas, saying
the UN should send more aid to Gaza, pushing back on reports by the UN and NGOs
that cumbersome Israeli inspections are blocking food and other essentials.
‘Beyond
catastrophic’
Hamas’s
unprecedented attack on 7 October resulted in about 1 160 deaths in Israel,
mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s
retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 31 000 people in Gaza, most
of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run
territory.
Militants
also seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, dozens of whom were
released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130
captives remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed dead.
Some 1.7
million Palestinians, 75 percent of Gaza’s population, are at risk of famine,
according to Oxfam.
“The
conditions we have observed in Gaza are beyond catastrophic,” Oxfam said
in its report.
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