Posted on 05/30/24
| News Source: i24
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) lifted a ban on the sale of food to Gaza from Israel and the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials, businessmen and international aid workers who spoke to Reuters. The decision comes as the ground offensive continues to disturb the flow of international aid, the United Nations stated on Wednesday.
The IDF authorities allowed Gazan traders to resume their purchases from Israeli and Palestinian suppliers of food such as fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy goods in May, days after starting the assault on Rafah, Gaza's southmost city, said the sources.
"Israel phoned Gazan distributors who had been purchasing goods from the West Bank and Israel before the war," the report cited Ayed Abu Ramadan, chair of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce. "It told them it was ready to coordinate the pick-up of goods."
The shift marks the first time any goods produced inside Israel or the West Bank have been allowed into Gaza since October 7, highlighted the report.
Asked by Reuters about the resumption of deliveries, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it was seeking ways to boost humanitarian aid and increase the amount of food for sale in Gaza. "Allowing for the private sector to bring some food into the Gaza Strip is part of those efforts to increase the amount of food that's coming in," said the COGAT spokesperson Shimon Freedman.
"The reopening is no panacea, though," noted the report. According to the UN, the amount of humanitarian aid entering the enclave has dropped by two-thirds since the ground military operation in Rafah.