VOA News | Tuesday, May 7, 2024 
Aid to Gaza choked off as border crossings closed

Geneva — U.N. humanitarian agencies say both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings into the Gaza Strip are “closed to goods and people” in both directions, essentially cutting off a lifeline for more than 2 million civilians in the embattled Palestinian territory. “We currently have no physical presence at the Rafah crossing as our access to go to that area for coordination has been denied by COGAT,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. COGAT is the Israeli agency that coordinates government activities in the Palestinian territories. “That means that the two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza have been choked off,” he said. “We are seeing the beginning of a military incursion. Rafah is in the crosshairs. IDF is ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for civilians — and the humanitarian operation — in Rafah and the entire strip,” he said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. Laerke told journalists in Geneva Tuesday that Rafah is the only entry point for fuel, noting that without diesel for trucks to transport aid inside Gaza, and without fuel to run generators, equipment, and communication, “the entire aid operation is in jeopardy.” – Read more