One Month After Ceasefire, Israel Continues to Block Entry of Temporary Housing into Gaza
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Gaza’s Government Media Office confirmed that no caravans, heavy equipment, or machinery have entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, despite nearly a month having passed since the ceasefire took effect. Israeli media reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to allow such aid into the enclave.
Tens of thousands of mobile homes are still stuck at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, awaiting Israeli permission to enter the besieged enclave.
Israel had agreed under the terms of the ceasefire to allow 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents into Gaza, but so far only 20,000 tents have been allowed in and no mobile homes.
No caravans, heavy equipment, or machinery have entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the Government Media Office confirmed on Friday.
“We monitor Israel’s actions and update mediators on its violations daily,” the office stated. “We await its compliance with the ceasefire agreement and the full entry of all agreed humanitarian supplies on time.”
On Sunday, an Israeli political source told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp (Kan) that Netanyahu has refused to allow the entry of aid trucks carrying mobile homes and heavy equipment into the enclave after security consultations with authorities on Saturday night.
Netanyahu’s move comes after Trump said on Saturday that Israel will have to decide what to do about an expired deadline for Hamas to release all the Israeli captives held in Gaza.
Kan’s unnamed source said the US president wants to change the agreement with Hamas so all the captives will be released together, earlier than the date set for phase two of the ceasefire. That phase has yet to be negotiated.
The Office said Israel’s refusal is “a clear evasion of its pledges and obligations” in the ceasefire with Hamas.
“[It] is an explicit declaration of its failure to the agreement,” it said.
The statement added that Palestinian groups in Gaza confirmed that they would “abide by their pledges in it as long as the occupation is committed” to the deal.
It added: “This [Israeli] refusal shows the whole world who is the party obstructing the agreement, which requires the guarantor mediators to intervene and pressure the occupation to fulfill what it signed.”
Quoting an official with knowledge of the ceasefire negotiations, Reuters said that “Israel had rejected requests by the United Nations, Qatar, and others to allow temporary housing units to be brought into Gaza to shelter displaced people as required under the ceasefire agreement”.
Truck drivers on the Egypt-Gaza border told Reuters that construction materials and tents have been blocked from entering since the start of the ceasefire.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis remains severe. After 15 months of genocide, nearly 1.5 million people are homeless. The entire population of 2.4 million faces extreme shortages of basic necessities and collapsed infrastructure.
