Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Following the release of Israel’s updated policy on civilian goods entering Gaza,  “things that people are trying to bring in by flotilla you can bring in through the legitimate existing crossings, [so] do it that way” said Quartet Envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Israel is currently letting in all civilian goods enter Gaza, with the only outright banned items being weapons and explosive materials. The goal has always been to weaken Hamas but not to the detriment of the Palestinian people living in Gaza. The updated policy will come with a public, universal list of what is not allowed to fall into the hands of Hamas, which continues to mount rocket attacks at Israeli and Palestinian civilians. continue reading…

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Over the past few months, Israel began easing restrictions on the flow of goods into Gaza. This was met with approval by UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon during his visit to the region. Israel’s policy towards the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is not stagnant and is always changing in response to regional security. Over this past weekend, the Israeli Cabinet voted to approve a number of measures which will create a much simpler policy towards the closure of Gaza.

The goal of the closure has always been to eliminate the flow of combatants and deny Hamas weaponry which it has, and will continue to use against Israelis and Palestinians. However, the updated policy will make the distinction between what is and what is not allowed into Gaza clearer. All goods, food products, medicine etc. will continue to enter Gaza with no restrictions. But rather than publish a list of what is allowed, the Israeli government has decided it will be simpler to have only a list of what is not allowed. This way, there is no confusion and the world can see that Israel has no intentions to deny Gazans needed goods. Again, everything that is not on the published list of banned materials (grenades and rifles etc.) will pass through any and all Israeli-operated crossings. continue reading…

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Israel’s security cabinet has voted to “liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza… expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision” and “continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material.”

Even before these measures are to be put in place, on Tuesday, Israel allowed in 5,355 tons of goods into Gaza. No border crossings were closed. In addition to the list below of goods which entered Gaza on June 15th, dozens of international organization staff members crossed into and out of Israel through the Erez crossing. continue reading…

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The only ship that was violent was not carrying any aid. Of the six ships in the flotilla which announced their intentions to break Israel’s legal maritime blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, five were redirected without incident. The one vessel, Turkish-operated Mavi Marmara, was the only ship which ambushed Israeli soldiers. Over the past 10 days, it has been obvious that the dozens of  “peace activists” came ready and eager for a violent skirmish and were thus anything but peace loving individuals.

After contents of the ship were unloaded, it has been discovered that the Mavi Marmara did not contain a single ounce of aid. Not one box of food or medicine for the people of Gaza. continue reading…

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The most recent ship carrying supplies to Gaza docked at the port of Ashdod on Saturday, bringing the total number of aid-carrying vessels to seven in the last week. Israel is delivering the goods aboard the ships using the same channels which 100 trucks full of aid enter Gaza daily.

Due to the fact that the thousands of tons of aid, including cement, must first be offloaded onto trucks from the boats, not all of the aid has been delivered yet. This process, which includes screening goods for weapons, takes time.  The maximum capacity for a truck is roughly 25 tons, so while only 45 trucks have been prepped and loaded, it is still a great amount of aid.

Unfortunately, Hamas is currently refusing entry to trucks which are waiting at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. As Hamas has a history of hijacking aid, it is vital that Israel is assured that construction materials are going to be used for peaceful, civilian purposes. To that end, we are working with the humanitarian organizations in Gaza that can insure that all cement, construction materials, and other aid will go to humanitarian projects.

The rumors that Israel is not letting in cement are categorically false. Our goal is to make sure the aid is distributed to the people. While distribution would normally be the role of the government, the “government” of Gaza is a terrorist organization whose declared mission is the destruction of the State of Israel. While we will not let Hamas build bunkers and military sites, we will also not allow the people of Gaza to go without adequate supplies. With our partners in the international community, we will make sure that the goods are distributed to the people of Gaza.

We are working as hard as we can to offload all supplies and send them to Gaza. Please stay tuned for future updates.

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There’s been a lot of misinformation being reported about the nature of Egypt and Israel’s blockade of Gaza. While the casualties on both sides are a tragedy, Israel had no choice but to stop the flotilla from breaking the blockade – and international law. While Israel was forced to take action in international waters, its actions are supported by international maritime law.

Below, find 13 clear points which explain Israel’s maritime blockade, supported by international law. continue reading…

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As news of the earthquake in Haiti started to emerge, the Israeli government immediately began to make plans to send a delegation to aid in the relief efforts.

“Our decision to immediately dispatch a large delegation of doctors, nurses, medics, rescue forces as well as drugs and medical equipment to Haiti expresses the deep values which have characterized the Jewish people and the State of Israel throughout history,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

On Friday, two Israeli jets carrying nearly 10 tons of medical equipment, doctors, nurses, medics, police forces and an elite search and rescue team landed in Haiti. The 220-person delegation is led by Brig. Gen. Shalom Ben-Aryeh (Res.), the commander of the Home Front Command’s National Search and Rescue Unit.

The IDF’s chief medical officer, Brig. Gen. Nachman Esh, said that while the field hospital will largely treat trauma patients, similar to those encountered in a war, specialists in various other fields have also been sent.

Thus far, the Israeli search and rescue units have rescued 70 people from beneath the rubble.

In addition to deploying search and rescue units to find survivors, Israel established a field hospital that includes 40 doctors, 24 nurses, medics, paramedics, x-ray equipment and personnel, a pharmacy, an emergency room, two surgery rooms, an incubation ward, a children’s ward, a maternity ward, and more. The field hospital is capable of treating nearly 500 victims per day and performing initial surgeries.

“We expect to have to deal mainly with trauma cases, but when we arrive there, we also expect to encounter the secondary wave of infections and diseases, as well as the routine cases that the local hospitals would usually deal with,” Brig. Gen. Esh said.

To see a special report on CNN about the Israeli Field Hospital, click here.

To see how the Israeli Field Hospital saved the lives of a newborn baby and its mother, watch this ABC Special.

To view the latest directly from the Israeli delegation in Haiti, click here.

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