This is a bit long but think it's worth posting in full as Actionaid is an independent charity - their evidence closely supports what the allegedly biased UN reports
Essential aid including food and medical supplies are being prevented from entering Gaza, says charity Actionaid, criticising “confusing and arbitrary rules about the type of aid permitted to enter Gaza”. The charity says it is resulting in thousands of essential items being stopped at border crossings and prevented from reaching those who desperately need it, as well as increasing the time spent on screening trucks, leading to a backlog at the border.
“It is incredibly frustrating that crucial aid is being prevented from entering Gaza when we know the level of need has soared to a staggering high,” said Ziad Issa, head of humanitarian policy at Actionaid UK. “We now face a farcical situation in which mere miles separate warehouses teeming with rejected but vital items like food, shelter kits, and medical supplies, and desperate people who are starving and in pain.”
Issa called for more “clarity, transparency and consistency in the aid screening process”, saying that the duty of all parties in a conflict to ensure the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians is enshrined under humanitarian law. She criticised the inspection process of aid as “too slow”.
Oxygen cylinders, anaesthetics for hospitals and stone fruit are among the items rejected during inspections say Actionaid. Stone fruit is being refused entry under the explanation that the stones could be used as bullets or used to plant trees, said the charity, who had also heard that tent poles were being turned away.
“Ultimately, even allowing more aid into Gaza will do nothing to stop dozens of deaths and injuries from airstrikes each day, which is why we will keep demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire,” said Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at Actionaid Palestine. “Problems with distributing aid will continue until bombs stop falling and it is safe and practically feasible to reach people in need at scale,” he added.
Frequent communication blackouts – such as the one Gaza has been experiencing since 12 January – have made coordination even more difficult, said the charity. “Aid workers inside Gaza, including our own staff members, are utterly exhausted and under immense pressure to coordinate aid distribution, despite facing the same hunger, loss and trauma as the rest of the population,” Actionaid wrote in a statement published on Friday.