When Christopher Lockyear, secretary-general of the aid group Doctors Without Borders, visited the Gaza Strip for five days this month, he noticed miles of trucks waiting to deliver aid into the devastated area, despite mounting international pressure to increase exports.
On Thursday, the International Court of Justice in The Hague responded to the continuing problems by ordering Israel to ensure the “unimpeded provision of aid” inside Gaza, using its strongest language. Israel has rejected accusations that it is responsible for aid delays, and did so again last week.
“It's not just about the number of trucks coming across the border,” Mr. Lockyear said in an interview Saturday. “It's about what happens after that point. It's about distribution. It's about sustainable health care. It's about clean water.
In its ruling on Thursday, the United Nations' top court, the ICJ, called on Israel to increase the number of land crossings for aid and to ensure that its military does not violate Palestinians' rights under the Genocide Convention. Preventing urgently needed humanitarian assistance by any means.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel replied Israel said it had made great efforts to ease harm to civilians and facilitate aid into Gaza, “including in particular food, water, shelter equipment and medicine.”
On Oct. 9 — two days after a Hamas offensive in southern Israel and the start of Israel's war in Gaza — Israel declared a “total siege” of the area. Since then, aid has been allowed into Gaza only under Israeli-mandated restrictions; Those rules also apply to aid sent by the United Nations and groups such as Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.
Last week, Mr. Lockyear said an MSF truck carrying medical supplies and equipment was blocked from entering Gaza because it was carrying metal devices to help set broken bones. “These items, which have been allowed in before, we have brought them into Gaza before,” said Mr. Lockyear said. This time, he said, “the whole truck was turned around because of these items, and we don't know why.”
A spokesman for the Israeli authority responsible for allowing aid into Gaza said the authority could find no record or information about an MSF truck being rejected or refused.
Israel has previously said it prevents or restricts the entry of what Hamas calls “dual-use” items or materials that could be used for military purposes.
Mr. Distributed correctly and safely, but the need to end the conflict.
The combined effects of the humanitarian disaster and continued military operations were brought into focus, he said during a visit to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Bala on March 19, the morning after the area suffered another heavy bombing.
The wards and corridors were filled with injured victims with burns, lacerations and crushed limbs. Meanwhile, a steady stream of malnourished and crippled children was brought in.
“One of the most shocking things is the decision that the medical teams there have to make: Do they give beds to trauma patients or do they give beds to malnourished children?” he said.
On Saturday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for increased evacuations from Gaza. Affected hospitals are struggling to care for the sick and wounded, he wrote In a post on X“About 9,000 patients need to be urgently evacuated overseas for life-saving health services, including treatment for cancer, blast injuries, kidney dialysis and other chronic conditions.”
He urged Israel to approve more evacuations, saying “every moment counts.”
