Jerusalem.- Israel said this Sunday that in the last week -from August 3 to 9- 1,900 humanitarian aid trucks "were collected and distributed" in the Gaza Strip through the Zikim (in the north) and Kerem Shalom (south) crossings, which represents an average of 270 trucks daily compared to the 600 needed -according to humanitarian organizations- to cover the needs of the Gazans.
From the total, COGAT, the Israeli body in charge of civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, assures that of the total, more than 1,300 trucks contained mainly food.
"We will continue to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza for the civilian population, not for Hamas," the note states.
The Gaza government, for its part, in a statement released by its media office, regretted that only 95 trucks entered yesterday, most of which "were looted and confiscated amid the security chaos deliberately caused by the Israeli occupation."
And, in addition, it ensures that, according to its count of the last 14 days (from July 27 to August 9) only a total of 1,210 aid trucks have entered Gaza, "which means that only about 14% of the real needs have been covered", the note states.
The veto imposed by Israel on the entry of international press into the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli offensive makes it difficult to verify this dance of figures.
What the main organizations such as the UN and the Gazans themselves consulted by EFE have been warning about is that the aid that arrives is insufficient. And they emphasize that to alleviate the current situation in the Gaza Strip, on the verge of famine, the daily entry of 600 trucks is needed.
Another problem reported by the Gaza Strip government is that most of the trucks accessing Gaza are looted, by hungry civilians but also by armed gangs, due to the lack of security measures by Israel, which prevents them from safely reaching the warehouses so that aid can be distributed.