Israel Lifts Ban On Food Sales To Gaza

WHO DOC ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Israeli military has reportedly lifted a ban on food sales to Gaza from Israel and the occupied West Bank due to military invasions hampering international aid, according to Palestinian officials, businessmen and international aid workers.

As reported by Reuters on Thursday, May 30, the military gave the Gaza merchants the green light to continue their purchases from Israeli and Palestinian food suppliers such as fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy products this month, days after Israeli forces launched an attack on the city of Rafah in the southernmost region of the enclave, the source said.

The attack on Rafah, the main gateway to Gaza from Egypt, halted the flow of UN aid to the Palestinian territories. Israel is under growing global pressure to ease this crisis when humanitarian agencies warn of hunger.

Israel called Gaza distributors who had bought goods from the West Bank and Israel before the war, said Ayed Abu Ramadan, chairman of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce. "They were told they were ready to coordinate the taking of goods."