Humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip (1st to 7th March)

Despite ongoing rocket and mortar fire in to Israel, humanitarian crossing activities continued.

139,150 tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered to Gaza since the unilateral cease fire. 13,568,900 liters of heavy duty diesel were transfered to Gaza for the power station.

Throughout the week a total of 17,402 tons of aid were transferred to the Gaza Strip, including international aid, donations, food supplies, medical supplies, medication, hypochloride, dairy and meat products, various types of grain, vaccines and fodder for livestock. The Karni conveyor belt facilitated shipping of 5,774 tons of grain.

This week, 59% of the goods transferred were at the request of the private sector and 41% were at the request of the international community. A total of 305 trucks with international aid and donations were shipped this week to Gaza. Donations included basic food commodities, school kits, paper, wheelchairs and other essential items. UNRWA continues to be the largest supplier of aid to the Gaza strip and shipped this week 145 truckloads of goods.

Since Monday (2 March 2009), COGAT has implemented at the request of the Dutch government a mechanism to enable the export of carnations from Gaza to the European market via Kerem Shalom. This week 135,000 carnations were shipped through this mechanism.

11 trucks from Jordan with supplies required for the Jordanian military field hospital arrived this week via Allenby Bridge and accessed Gaza via the Erez Crossing (4 March 2009).

The Nahal Oz fuel depot operated from Sunday-Thursday shipping 2,178,000 liters of heavy duty diesel and 416 tons of domestic gas. Also, 40,000 liters of diesel were transferred to Gaza at the request of UNRWA for operational needs. The ongoing supply of gas for domestic use is reliant on Palestinian demand and is not subject to any limitation by Israel.

This week 88 medical evacuations from Gaza to Israel took place (including escorts), via the Erez crossing.