Published
Video length: 2 min
TRUE OR FALSE. Are Israeli authorities blocking humanitarian aid to Rafah?
TRUE OR FALSE. Are Israeli authorities blocking humanitarian aid to Rafah? – (franceinfo)
On February 4, LFI deputies denounced blockages of humanitarian aid intended for Gaza by Israel. True or false ?
Visiting the border between Egypt and the Strip Gazain Rafah (Egypt), on February 4, LFI deputies denounced the blockages of humanitarian aid by Israel: “Products are returned en masse by Israel, under the pretext that they can be used as weapons: toy boxes, oxygen tanks, generators that can power a hospital.” In the photos, we can see children’s toys. Quickly, some Internet users denied it. Who is really responsible for the products returned to the border with Gaza ? The True or False team contacted a member of the Red Crescent, which manages humanitarian aid transiting from Egypt.
“The Egyptian army x-rays the trucks to check that they don’t contain anything prohibited. Then we go to the Israeli checkpoint, where there are also x-ray checks. Then they empty all the trucks and check each pallet”, explains Mohammed Hassan, member of the Egyptian Red Crescent. The control is therefore twofold.
Possible to negotiate according to Médecins sans Frontières
The humanitarian aid arrives through El-Arich airport in Egypt and is then transported by truck to Rafah, where it is X-ray scanned by the Egyptian army. The trucks then present themselves at the Israeli checkpoint at Nitzana, before returning to Rafah to enter Gaza. During checks, if a single object poses a problem, the truck must go through all the verification stages again.
According to Médecins sans Frontières, it is however possible to negotiate. “For example, chlorine to chlorinate water, or the oxygen concentrator to produce oxygen, if these materials can be used for martial purposes, they are revoked. However, we managed to import chlorine by explaining that this chlorine was intended for water. Even if a cargo ship was revoked, (…) by reiterating the request, these goods passed”assures Michel-Olivier Lacharité, head of emergency operations for the NGO.
According to a list obtained by the True or False team, Israeli controls systematically refuse objects packaged in wood, hence the return of children’s toys.