Since Israel’s security cabinet approved the passage of aid through the Kerem Shalom border crossing last month, tensions have been escalating near the Gaza border with many Israelis opposed to the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators, many of them families and friends of hostages still held in Gaza, have been gathering at the Kerem Shalom crossing, the southern entry point from Israel into Gaza. Their unified demand: no more aid should enter Gaza until all hostages are released.
The protest, which intensified last Wednesday, effectively halted the passage of aid trucks into Gaza. Out of 70 to 100 trucks which normally cross, only a mere nine managed to bypass the demonstrators. The protestors voiced their anguish and frustration over the ongoing captivity of their loved ones with slogans such as “No aid will pass until the last hostage returns.” and, “Don’t give aid to the enemy!”
“There is nothing humanitarian about this aid”
The protestors have valid concerns with the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since the aid meant for Gazan civilians began flowing into Gaza, videos and other reports have surfaced of Hamas fighters stealing the supplies. Israel has sent medicine into Gaza for the hostages, but there is no indication the medications ever reached them.
In addition, UNRWA, the United Nations organization responsible for distributing the aid to Palestinians in Gaza who need it, has shown itself totally inept, corrupt, and even complicit with Hamas in its activities. A recent revelation exposed UNRWA employees participating in the massacres of October 7, 2023.
Pressure on Israel from the United States to send aid to Gaza
The Biden Administration, which pressured Israel to open the crossing in the first place last month, urged Israel to not let the crossing be blocked, informing Israel that the Kerem Shalom crossing must remain open and operate as usual.
In response, Tzav-9, one of the groups organizing the blockades, issued this statement:
” . . . we suggest that the administration and the President of the United States direct all their efforts and heartfelt concern for the immediate release of the one-year-old baby Kfir Bibas together with 135 abductees. We continue our activity with all our might and call on the entire public in the country, religious and secular from the right and the left, from the city, the village and the kibbutz to come with us and block the Kerem Shalom crossing. No aid goes through until the last of the abductees returns.”
The IDF and Israeli police began setting up roadblocks, and hundreds of protesters began flocking to the crossing on foot. At publishing time, the IDF had announced a closed military zone surrounding the crossing, keeping protesters away from the road, and arresting some.
Source Links:
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/israeli-protesters-try-to-block-aid-to-gaza-un-claims-catastrophic-hunger-in-gaza/2024/01/24/
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/gaza/protesters-succeed-in-blocking-entry-of-all-the-humanitarian-aid-trucks-into-gaza/2024/01/25/
https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1750593437672554721
