The Israeli army has invited a big contingent of media organisations, together with Sky News, to the Nitzana border crossing within the Negev Desert.
On the border between Israel and Egypt, it’s at the moment the purpose by way of which all items should go earlier than they will enter Gaza.
The function of the go to is to point out the world that help is stepping into Gaza. And it is true that vans are making it in – however it’s stop-start and it is a very laborious course of.
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Before any items are allowed to go into Gaza, they have to be safety screened by the Israelis – a course of that takes a while.
This is simply taking place on the Egypt-Israel Nitzana crossing the place we had been introduced as we speak.
The vans arrive from Egypt on the Israeli aspect. There they’re screened, generally a number of occasions, earlier than passing again by way of to the Egyptian aspect of the border.
They then drive as much as the Rafah crossing the place they’re checked once more earlier than passing into Gaza.
The Israelis say they’ve ‘eyes’ (in all probability drones) on the vans as they drive from Nitzana to Rafah.
Since the 7 October Hamas assaults which triggered this battle, a mean of 38 vans a day have crossed into Gaza by way of this stop-start course of.
They are all required to go by way of Nitzana after which snake again round by way of to the Rafah crossing.
Today’s anticipated determine is 96 vans, which is encouraging however not practically adequate, in response to UN officers.
The context is vital right here. Pre-war, about 500 vans a day would get into Gaza.
The vans would go by way of varied routes – both instantly from Egypt by way of their Rafah/Salah Al Din crossing (primarily a foot crossing however more and more used for items) – or from Israel into Gaza by way of the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The northern Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza is for individuals (beneath stringent circumstances) solely.
It was badly broken by Hamas throughout their 7 October assault.
There isn’t any airport in Gaza. The Yasser Arafat International Airport was destroyed by Israel in 2001.
United Nations officers inform me that the 96 vans set to make the journey as we speak are a fraction of what is wanted.
“It’s not just the number of people in Gaza who need humanitarian aid, it’s the depth of their needs,” one UN official advised me this week.
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The Israeli army, which manages the Nitzana crossing, has a unique perspective on the state of affairs inside Gaza.
“There is no humanitarian crisis inside Gaza,” Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza, advised me.
But a number of help businesses and the United Nations, who’re on the bottom in Gaza, have stated repeatedly that the state of affairs is dire.
Source: information.sky.com”