GAZA: Food supplies to Gaza have fallen sharply in recent weeks because Israeli authorities have introduced a new customs rule on some humanitarian aid and are separately scaling down deliveries organised by businesses, people involved in getting goods to the war-torn territory said.
The new customs rule applies to truck convoys chartered by the United Nations to take aid from Jordan to Gaza via Israel, seven people familiar with the matter said. Under the rule, individuals from relief organisations sending aid must complete a form providing passport details, and accept liability for any false information on a shipment, the people said. They said relief agencies are disputing that requirement, which was announced mid-August, because they fear signing the form could expose staff to legal problems if aid fell into the hands of Hamas or other enemies of Israel. As a result, shipments have not been getting through the Jordan route -- a key channel in Gaza supplies -- for two weeks. The dispute has not affected shipments via Cyprus and Egypt, the sources said.
In a parallel move, Israeli authorities have restricted commercial food shipments to Gaza amid concerns that Hamas was benefiting from that trade, the people familiar with the matter and industry sources said. UN and Israeli government data show that in September, deliveries of food and aid sank to their lowest in seven months. — Reuters
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