The blockade begins to ease; some vital goods allowed into Gaza
23 Jun 2008
As the Gaza Strip ceasefire enters its fourth successful day, Israel began to allow the shipment of basic goods that have been made scarce in Gaza by a year-long Israeli-led blockade.
Gaza's Israeli-controlled border crossings opened at 9:30 on Sunday morning. Witnesses at the Sufa crossing point, in southern Gaza, said that the goods are being placed 500 meters inside the Palestinian side of the border. By 3pm, when the transfer is complete, the goods will be distributed to aid agencies and commercial distributors.
An Israeli security source said that 90 truckloads of goods passed through the Sufa crossing on Sunday.
A large portion of Sunday's shipment is food and medical supplies for UNRWA, the UN's relief agency for Palestinian refugees, the World Food Program and various health organizations.
According to the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement, Israel is to allow 30% more goods into the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
As the occupying power, Israel controls the Strip's border crossings, and has severely curtailed shipments of vital goods, including food, construction materials, fuel, shoes, clothes, and even medical supplies. Virtually none of Gaza's 1.5 million residents have been allowed outside in the past year.
Separately, sources in the Israeli Ministry of Defense said they would seek to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing to take pressure off the other, smaller border crossings.
There are reports that a shipment of diesel fuel is scheduled to pass through the Nahal Oz fuel terminal, although reporters said that the tanker trucks are still waiting for the crossing to be opened. Still other reports indicated that Sunday's fuel shipment will not represent an increase in the severely-curtailed supply allowed into Gaza.