Israel Says Winter Aid Has Entered Gaza as 53 Nations Press for Access

Israel said Friday that more than 93,000 tents and over 8,600 truckloads of winter supplies have entered the Gaza Strip, a day after more than 50 countries and international organizations urged it to ease restrictions on humanitarian deliveries. The Israeli military said it had also approved the entry of 16 sewage vacuum trucks and medical equipment, and was coordinating repairs to water and drainage infrastructure.

The announcement came after a joint statement led by Britain, Qatar and Jordan warned that many Palestinians lacked adequate shelter and called on Israel to allow essential supplies into Gaza. The 53 signatories urged Israel to approve the entry of additional essential supplies, including items classified as “dual-use,” particularly those needed for shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and healthcare.

On Nov. 7, Gaza’s civil defense authorities declared a state of maximum emergency as a rainstorm flooded around 70,000 tents housing displaced Palestinians. As of Nov. 8, humanitarian partners had received appeals for aid from more than 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings were damaged, with more than 6,000 family shelters destroyed and 17,400 damaged, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The OCHA said about 1.4 million Palestinians, or 65 percent of Gaza’s population, were living in tents or makeshift shelters, and warned that humanitarian shelter stocks inside Gaza were virtually exhausted while more than 150,000 tents remained outside the territory awaiting entry. UN Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said: “Ultimately, we need the Israeli authorities to cooperate with giving the permissions so that we can bring those tents in”.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said waiting for a new Israeli government to form is “not an acceptable excuse” for delays in getting essential winter supplies into Gaza. “No more delay. Open all the crossings, not just one. Let our vital NGO partners work. Allow the commercial markets to function. Stop this collective punishment,” he said.

Israel says it restricts certain materials over concerns that Hamas could use them for military purposes . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that “Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza,” adding that the group’s refusal to disarm remained the main obstacle to reconstruction.