Israel’s blockade of Gaza eased slightly

On day five of the ceasefire between the Islamist group which controls Gaza, Hamas, and Israel, calm continued in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, but there has been little visible change in the sanctions regime imposed on the Palestinian enclave.
 
[Read this report in Arabic]

On 22 and 23 June Israel said a somewhat larger than usual number of trucks carrying humanitarian goods, such as food and medicines, were allowed into Gaza.

Israeli officials said the 90 or so trucks per day represented an increase of about a third on the exceptionally low traffic after Palestinian militants attacked the border crossings in April.

Since April, Israel said the average had been about 60 trucks a day.

"There is an increase, but it does not go beyond humanitarian goods at the moment," said Maj Peter Lerner from the office of the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a section of the Ministry of Defence.

Hamas officials in Gaza took credit for the increase, saying it was part of the ceasefire deal they had reached with Israel.

Humanitarian aid workers in Gaza were more sceptical, saying the increase in goods was only slight, and that there was little indication the nature of the materials allowed into Gaza would change.

Currently, raw materials, agricultural products, cement, spare parts and many other items are restricted. Israeli officials could not say when this would change.

shg/ar/cb