Israel Assesses 2009 Aid to Gaza

There was an increase of 125% in the number of Internationals crossing into the Gaza Strip. Four hundred delegations of foreign officials also visited. The 28% increase in the transfer of humanitarian goods from Israel to Gaza was via the Kerem Shalom [Gaza– Egypt–Israel borders] and Sufa [on Gaza’s southeastern border] crossings.

Participants were presented with details of the activities of GoGAT and of the [Israeli military’s] Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration [CLA] during Operation Cast Lead, during which the Gaza CLA maintained regular contact with all organizations in order to meet their needs.

During the operation, there were approximately 1,600 cases where the Gaza CLA coordinated the evacuation of populations from combat areas and of casualties via international organizations, including the Red Cross. In addition, 1,400 truckloads of humanitarian goods were transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip through the crossing points, during the fighting, coordinated by the Gaza CLA and supplied by international organizations.

At the conference, Gaza CLA commander Col. Moshe Levy said: “The fruitful cooperation between the Coordination and Liaison Administration and the international organizations allows us to respond to the needs of the Palestinian population in Gaza, which currently lives under a regime of terror. Because of the cooperation and the support given by international organizations, there is a wide and varied supply of food and medicine in the Gaza Strip, a fact well established in official reports of UN personnel,” added Col. Levy.

Col. Levy further noted that “Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and of the Gaza CLA understands the importance of international organizations’ work in Gaza and maintains close, continuous contact with them on a daily basis to provide the best response to their needs.”

By Ron Ross, former BFP correspondent