Gaza (TDI): Israel has decided to cut by half the number of humanitarian trucks entering Gaza from Wednesday, dealing a blow to expectations that aid deliveries would soon expand to address widespread hunger across the territory.
The Israeli body responsible for coordinating aid, COGAT, informed the United Nations that no fuel or cooking gas would be permitted except for limited use in key humanitarian facilities. Officials cited the “slow return” of bodies of Israeli captives by Hamas as the reason behind the new restrictions.
Hamas, however, said the recovery of remains was proving difficult amid the destruction. The group has so far handed over four coffins, with at least 23 hostages still believed dead and one person unaccounted for. Mediators were told that four more bodies might be transferred later on Tuesday.
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Israel has also postponed the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, further complicating the flow of goods into Gaza.
“We continue to see only a few trucks entering, surrounded by desperate crowds in scenes that clearly fall short of humanitarian standards,” said Christian Cardon, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at a briefing in Geneva.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Hamas has intensified its control, reportedly executing alleged collaborators and consolidating authority through a newly formed security arm known locally as the Deterrence Force.
On the reconstruction front, a UN official announced that European and Arab countries, as well as Canada and the United States, had expressed readiness to help raise the roughly $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza.
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“The war left behind debris equal to thirteen times the size of the Pyramids of Giza,” the official said, adding that conversations with multiple partners had been “encouraging,” including positive signals from Canada, Europe, and ongoing talks with Washington.
