Israel Refused To Allow Food, Medicines Into Gaza, Egyptian Trucks Bringing Fuel, Food Forced To Make U-turn, Says Palestinian Official
Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh says Israel rejected the entry of food and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.
The official called on the international community to “intervene urgently to stop the aggression and allow the entry of relief materials and restore electricity and water, because the Gaza Strip is facing a major humanitarian catastrophe.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip yesterday, including stopping the supply of electricity, food and fuel.
The two land crossings from Israel into the Strip have been closed since Hamas launched its deadly onslaught on Israeli communities Saturday, with the larger one, Erez, having been completely destroyed by terrorists.
The Rafah crossing into Israel was open until this morning. In the early afternoon, the IAF bombed it and forced it to close. Egyptian trucks carrying fuel and goods to the strip were forced to turn back.
The IDF has said it hit an underground tunnel for smuggling weapons and equipment in the Rafah area but did not confirm or deny hitting the crossing itself.
Times of Israel earlier reported that following the IAF’s afternoon strike at the Rafah crossing, the only active land crossing out of Gaza with the border to Israel sealed, Egyptian trucks that were on the way to the Strip with fuel and goods were forced to turn back.
The bombing came in spite of the fact that an Israeli military official earlier advised Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt through Rafah amid the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group. The IDF has since walked back that statement.
Channel 12 claimed the crossing was hit to prevent Egypt from providing a lifeline to the besieged Strip.
