KEREM SHALOM: Israeli protesters blocked humanitarian aid trucks from entering the war-torn Gaza Strip on Sunday, forcing the lorries to turn around at a crossing with the Palestinian territory.

       Hundreds gathered in the latest protest at the Kerem Shalom crossing, despite the army saying in a statement it had declared the area “a closed military zone”.

       The demonstrators, some affiliated with relatives of prisoners held in Gaza, have assembled there for days to protest aid going to the territory that UN officials say is on the brink of catastrophe.

       The International Court of Justice in The Hague has ruled that Israel must facilitate “urgently need-ed” humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory, which has been under relentless bombardment and siege since the Oct 7.

       Only two border crossings are used for aid delivery to Gaza’s roughly 2.4 million residents — southern Israel’s Kerem Shalom and Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

       COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body governing civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, said that the Kerem Shalom crossing was closed on Sunday due to around “around 200” protesters demonstrating there.

       Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2024