Dozens of Israelis, including relatives of hostages being held in Gaza, and soldiers fighting in the enclave, tried on Wednesday morning to block trucks delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing – and by Wednesday evening they mostly succeeded. Only nine of the trucks managed to get past the protesters’ blockade and reach Gaza.
A spokesperson for the IDF international desk told JewishPress.com the military had heard “nothing” of the reports. Later in the day the IDF acknowledged, “In recent hours, a demonstration calling for the release of hostages has been taking place at the Kerem Shalom Humanitarian Crossing. The delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip will recommence when circumstances permit.”
The report comes as no surprise. The families of those still being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas terrorists are becoming more desperate, terrified and aggressive by the day, as concerns continue to grow over their loved ones’ health and safety.
Earlier this week, a group of the hostages’ families broke into a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, screaming that Israeli lawmakers should not be able to “sit here while our loved ones are sitting there!” in Gaza captivity.
The IDF Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories (COGAT) wrote in a post on the X social media platform Tuesday that Israeli inspectors have approved more aid than the international aid agencies seem to be able to handle. “We adjusted long ago. Did you? The answer is no,” COGAT wrote.
For weeks, we’ve been saying we’re inspecting more aid than you can handle. We adjusted long ago. did you?
The answer is no.
Stop spreading accusations and start doing your job: hundreds of aid trucks are waiting for you at the border, including now. Collect and distribute them. https://t.co/mYCqNCNbQf pic.twitter.com/IZOQaM4BI1— COGAT (@cogatonline) January 23, 2024
The post came in response to an accusation — also posted to X — that “570,000 people in Gaza face catastrophic hunger. Intense fighting, access denials & restrictions + communications blackouts are hampering UNRWA’s ability to safely & effectively deliver aid.”
570,000 people in?#Gaza face catastrophic hunger.
Intense fighting, access denials & restrictions + communications blackouts are hampering @UNRWA‘s ability to safely & effectively deliver aid.
As risk of famine grows, @UN calls for a critical increase in humanitarian access. https://t.co/fhlAGyJ8BQ
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) January 23, 2024
“UNRWA Partners” wrote Tuesday on X that “UNRWA continues to distribute flour in the southern governorates of the Gaza Strip. More than 320,000 families have been reached so far.”
As for “donations” to the poor Gazans by regional governments, here’s an interesting bit of information, courtesy of the Abu Ali Express site.
It would seem that United Nations aid groups would like to have it both ways: blame Israel for their own inability to facilitate deliveries on trucks that are waiting for hours – and sometimes days – at the border — and whose supplies are then efficiently hijacked by Hamas, while meanwhile claiming they are doing their jobs and distributing the supplies to needy Gazans.
Meanwhile, here are the updated numbers provided by COGAT on Wednesday morning, Jan. 24:
• 235 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were transferred to the Gaza Strip yesterday (Jan. 23). 91 trucks were inspected at Nitzana and transferred to Gaza via the Rafah Crossing, and 144 trucks were inspected and transferred via Kerem Shalom. 162 trucks carried food.
• Yesterday, (Jan. 23) 4 tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, have entered the Gaza Strip.
• 4 warehouses, designated to enhance the logistic capacity of the international organizations receiving the humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip, were established.
• 71 foreign nationals were coordinated for exit yesterday (Jan. 23).
• The coordination for the repair of vital infrastructure was successfully completed.
• Today, (Jan. 24) between 10 am and 2 pm, the IDF will pause operations in the Yafa and Al-Baruk neighborhoods in Dier al Balach, central Gaza, in order to enable movement of humanitarian aid.
Those are the plain, unvarnished facts. The efforts by the United Nations, and particularly the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to paint Israel as “the bad guy” clearly reflect the growing and desperate efforts by the international body to help Hamas simply obliterate the Jewish State.
Not a surprise but outrageous nevertheless, especially considering that money provided by Jewish taxpayers in Israel and in the United States — as well as elsewhere around the world — is then donated to the global UN pot supporting these efforts.
The United States alone contributes billions of dollars annually through three accounts in the annual State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bill to pay for UN Contributions to International Organizations (CIO), Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA), and Peacekeeping Operations (PKO).
The United States is the single largest contributor to the United Nations’ regular and peacekeeping budgets. There are around 6.3 million Jewish Americans living in the United States, paying taxes and contributing to the United Nations’ outrageous support for Hamas’ effort to destroy Israel.
Elsewhere around the world, there are 440,000 Jewish taxpayers in France; 398,000 Jewish taxpayers in Canada; 312,000 Jewish taxpayers in Britain; 171,000 Jewish taxpayers in Argentina; 132,000 Jewish taxpayers in Russia; 125,000 Jewish taxpayers in Germany; 117,200 Jewish taxpayers in Australia and 90,000 Jewish taxpayers in Brazil.
While those Jewish taxpayers comprise a small percentage of the total taxpayer base in each of the above nations, it is important for every Jewish citizen in each country to realize and consider the fact that a portion of their tax monies are being donated to the United Nations, which openly supports Hamas.
