Over one thousand humanitarian aid trucks languished on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, adding that UN officials claimed that looting of trucks made the distribution of the aid too dangerous.
On Sunday, Israel announced a “tactical pause of military activity” along the road stretching from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah al-Din Road before continuing north.
The IDF noted that the pause, which took place from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, was part of a joint effort with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to increase the amount of humanitarian aid going into Gaza.
The military said that the pause came in light of related talks with the UN and other international organizations.
In a video posted by the IDF to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, a spokesperson noted that, in coordination with COGAT, more than 35,000 aid trucks entered the Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing since the start of the war.
This video was filmed at the Kerem Shalom Crossing earlier today, where 1,400 humanitarian aid trucks are still waiting to be picked up and distributed inside Gaza. The IDF continues to operate to facilitate the transfer of aid to Gaza. pic.twitter.com/R22IEaKzyl
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 17, 2024
Hundreds of trucks wait to be picked up
The military noted that 1,400 hundred trucks had been waiting to be picked up for distribution at the border crossing.
According to the WSJ report, no UN trucks had arrived to retrieve the aid by mid-afternoon. However, citing the IDF, the report noted that 21 other trucks had arrived to pick up aid.
“We need to keep people safe,” Gaza-based United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) director Scott Anderson told the WSJ.
UNRWA has received heavy criticism in Israel and abroad for alleged ties to Hamas. In February, the IDF discovered a Hamas command tunnel underneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters.
Late last month, the Knesset passed a preliminary bill designating the UN agency as a terrorist organization.