Reuters: Aid shipments to Gaza stuck at Egyptian border due to tight Israeli restrictions

SANAA, Aug. 14 (YPA) – Reuters revealed that trucks loaded with humanitarian aid intended for the Gaza Strip have been stuck since last Sunday, meters from the Egyptian border, after the Israeli occupation forces prevented them from entering.

The agency reported that the shipment, consisting of a trailer and a truck bearing World Health Organization logos, included topical medicines and suction devices, but was rejected by the occupation authorities on the pretext that they contained “illegal drugs,” according to a WHO employee working at the Rafah crossing.

Reuters quoted UN officials and drivers as saying that delivering food and medicine to Gaza faces a series of obstacles, starting with the rejection of shipments for reasons described as “minor,” such as problems with packaging or paperwork, through strict scrutiny regarding the possibility of dual military use of the contents, and ending with the reduction of working hours at the Israeli crossings.

The WHO employee indicated that inspection and clearance procedures, which took a few days during previous truces, now extend to a month or more, deepening the humanitarian supply crisis in the besieged Strip.