'All announcements about aid entering Gaza are part of a deceptive theatrical performance meant to mislead global public opinion and cover up the ongoing crime,' says Gaza Media Office Director Al-Thawabta
Gaza's government media office has rejected claims that over 100 humanitarian aid trucks had entered the besieged enclave on Friday, calling some media reports "misleading" and attempting to "cover up the ongoing crime."
In a statement, Gaza Media Office Director Ismail Al-Thawabta said on Saturday: “All announcements about aid entering Gaza are part of a deceptive theatrical performance meant to mislead global public opinion and cover up the ongoing crime.”
The statement comes after Egypt's Al Qahera News reported on Saturday, citing an unknown government source, that 117 aid trucks entered Gaza on Friday through the Kerem Shalom (Karam Abu Salem) crossing in the south and the Zikim point in the north. The source provided no additional information.
Thawabta emphasized that Israel has completely closed the crossings for more than 145 days, implementing a systematic starvation policy by preventing essential aid, particularly infant formula and nutritional supplements, from entering Gaza.
“This is exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe and threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians,” Thawabta warned.
Observers attribute the contradiction to the fact that even when a limited number of trucks are allowed to cross into the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom, they are often detained, prevented from unloading, and left exposed to spoilage.
Meanwhile, those who enter via Zikim are reportedly diverted to Israeli-controlled military zones, where aid is not distributed to civilians but instead looted and resold on the black market by local gangs operating under Israeli military cover.
This claim was backed by an investigative report from Israel’s state-owned KAN on Friday.
According to the report, Israeli officers admitted to destroying food, water, and medical supplies from over a thousand aid trucks left to rot under the sun near the Kerem Shalom crossing.
“We buried everything in the ground. Some of it we burned,” one officer told the media outlet, without giving a specific date.
“Even now, thousands of parcels are baking under the sun. If they’re not allowed into Gaza, we’ll have to destroy them too,” he added.
Another Israeli officer acknowledged systemic dysfunction, stating: “The mechanism to expand aid is not working. Trucks are halted, roads are unsuitable, and coordination is absent.
“We have here the largest grain warehouse in the world. If the current supplies are not cleared, we’ll destroy and bury them.”
The situation in Gaza is growing increasingly dire. Visual evidence circulated on social media shows Palestinians appearing emaciated, suffering from extreme hunger, nausea, fatigue, and loss of consciousness.
On Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme warned that one-third of Gaza’s population has gone days without food due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.
Since March 2, Israel has also avoided following through on a truce and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas and has kept Gaza’s border crossings shut, leaving life-saving aid trucks stranded at the gates. According to Gaza authorities, a minimum of 500 aid trucks and 50 fuel trucks are needed daily to prevent total collapse.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 59,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
