Judging from the reports from inside Gaza, one might think there is no ceasefire. One might even think that Israel still has genocidal intentions toward Gaza despite the October peace agreement. Middle East Eye reported yesterday that the Israeli army has continued to attack various areas across the Gaza Strip as IDF troops carry out demolitions of buildings, despite the lack of shelter amid dropping temperatures. Israeli aircraft launched several air strikes on Monday morning on the eastern areas of Khan Younis, coinciding with heavy artillery shelling that targeted al-Khansaa School and its surroundings in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of the city, MEE reported.
Compounding the targeted attacks and demolitions of Gaza’s buildings are restrictions meted out by Israeli authorities on the entry of various essential aid, including materials for tents. Amjad al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, told MEE that most of the tents used by the displaced people are worn out and do not meet the minimum requirements for shelter. He said there is an urgent need for about 300,000 new tents before the arrival of winter in order to avoid an imminent humanitarian and environmental disaster.
According to Thawabta, the ceasefire deal stipulated the introduction of more than 300,000 tents and mobile homes to shelter the over 288,000 displaced Palestinian families. But he added that Israel did not adhere to the stipulations regarding the shelters or other necessities that should have entered the blockaded strip, including essential food, medicine, heavy machinery, and fuel.
Between the start of the ceasefire and the end of October, only 3,203 trucks entered, out of the stipulated 13,200. On a daily basis, an average of only 145 commercial and aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip, the media office noted, while the original plan required the entry of at least 600 trucks per day.
