The Israeli navy has invited a big contingent of media organisations, together with Sky Information, 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 move earlier than they’ll enter Gaza.
The aim of the go to is to point out the world that help is stepping into Gaza. And it is true that vehicles are making it in – but it surely’s stop-start and it is a very laborious course of.
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Earlier than any items are allowed to move into Gaza, they have to be safety screened by the Israelis – a course of that takes a while.
That is solely taking place on the Egypt-Israel Nitzana crossing the place we have been introduced immediately.
The vehicles arrive from Egypt on the Israeli aspect. There they’re screened, typically a number of instances, 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 vehicles as they drive from Nitzana to Rafah.
A sniffer canine checking a automobile on the border
Because the 7 October Hamas assaults which triggered this conflict, a mean of 38 vehicles a day have crossed into Gaza by way of this stop-start course of.
They’re all required to move by way of Nitzana after which snake again round by way of to the Rafah crossing.
In the present day’s anticipated determine is 96 vehicles, which is encouraging however not practically ample, in response to UN officers.
The context is essential right here. Pre-war, about 500 vehicles a day would get into Gaza.
The vehicles would move by way of varied routes – both immediately 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 through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The northern Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza is for folks (below stringent circumstances) solely.
It was badly broken by Hamas throughout their 7 October assault.
There isn’t any airport in Gaza. The Yasser Arafat Worldwide Airport was destroyed by Israel in 2001.
United Nations officers inform me that the 96 vehicles set to make the journey immediately are a fraction of what is wanted.
“It isn’t simply the variety of folks in Gaza who want humanitarian help, it is the depth of their wants,” one UN official instructed me this week.
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The Israeli navy, which manages the Nitzana crossing, has a special perspective on the state of affairs inside Gaza.
“There isn’t any humanitarian disaster inside Gaza,” Colonel Moshi Tetro, head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza, instructed me.
However a number of help companies and the United Nations, who’re on the bottom in Gaza, have mentioned repeatedly that the state of affairs is dire.