oatmeal<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Palestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Palestine</span></a> / Bureaucratic hurdles and intentional ambiguity severely limit humanitarian aid to Gaza</p><p>A new report exposes the systematic bureaucratic obstacles imposed by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Israel</span></a> that severely hinder the delivery of essential humanitarian aid to Gaza, exacerbating the suffering of the civilian population. </p><p>These impediments include arbitrary denials, extensive inspections at a single crossing, unclear and shifting regulations, restrictions on essential equipment, and a lack of communication between authorities and aid organizations, leading to significant delays and even the outright prevention of crucial supplies. </p><p>Aid workers report unprecedented levels of obstruction, suggesting a deliberate policy of hindering aid, while the inconsistent treatment of different aid organizations further complicates the already dire situation.</p><p>[…] In this article, we aim to illustrate the systematic disruptions in the delivery of humanitarian aid, both at the military and bureaucratic levels. We will then show how the "gray" bureaucracy is used not only to delay the delivery of aid but also to disrupt the work of the aid organizations themselves.</p><p>[…] The Gaza Strip began to be closed off long before the current war. As early as 1991, restrictions were imposed on the movement of Gazans from the Strip into Israeli territory. Restrictions on the movement of people and goods continued in the early and mid-2000s, and intensified significantly in June 2007. In response to Hamas' takeover of the Strip, Israel imposed a siege that restricted the quantity, type, and nature of food, medicine, and goods that could be brought into the Strip, and began monitoring all items entering it.</p><p>[…] The siege was tightened immediately after October 7, 2023, as reflected in the declaration by the then Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, that Israel was imposing a complete siege on the Strip.</p><p>[…] In some cases, delays force aid organizations to cancel missions on their own initiative. For example, during December 2024, out of 569 planned missions in the Gaza Strip, 189 (33%) were successfully carried out, 103 (18%) were pre-coordinated but disrupted en route, 224 (39%) were rejected by Israel, and 53 (9%) were canceled by the organizers due to challenges on the ground.</p><p>[…] The looting of aid constitutes another bottleneck. This looting is enabled by Israel's policy, which began early in the war, of attacking the civilian police in Gaza as part of its attempts to harm <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hamas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hamas</span></a>' ability to govern the Gaza Strip ("governance"). A side effect, which at least some of our interviewees claimed is intentional, is the weakening of the local Gazan ability to deal with the crime gangs attacking humanitarian aid convoys. Checkpoints manned by armed gang members – who are not interfered with by Israeli forces, even though they are sometimes only hundreds of meters away from IDF positions – are where some aid organizations and commercial companies may pay crime gangs to bring in aid without it being looted.</p><p>[…] Frequently, Palestinian aid workers are taken for interrogation or arrested, and international aid organization workers suffer negative treatment, including being spat upon, threatened, and at times having their cars shot at or physically blocked by tanks. Sometimes the problems are more mundane. One interviewee told us about a case where his convoy received permission to pass, but a supposedly broken gate delayed the convoy, which had to wait for a technician or return without completing its mission. When convoys are allowed to proceed, they usually experience many delays that sometimes last until nightfall, or they are required to make very short visits – and these also harm the quality of humanitarian aid received by the civilian population.</p><p>The authors are Professors Liat Kozma and Lee Mordechai from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.</p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/israel" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>israel</span></a></span><br><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/palestine" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>palestine</span></a></span><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IsraelOccupation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelOccupation</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IsraelWarCrimes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelWarCrimes</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GazaBlockade" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GazaBlockade</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SiegeOnGaza" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SiegeOnGaza</span></a></p><p>Hebrew <a href="https://www.mekomit.co.il/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%A1%D7%99/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">mekomit.co.il/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%</span><span class="invisible">95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%AA-%D7%A1%D7%99/</span></a></p><p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/israel" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>israel</span></a></span><br><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/palestine" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>palestine</span></a></span><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IsraelOccupation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelOccupation</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IsraelWarCrimes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IsraelWarCrimes</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GazaGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GazaGenocide</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HumanitarianAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HumanitarianAid</span></a></p>