Gaza: Israel Allows Aid
For the fifth time this month, the Israeli military has allowed humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, temporarily permitting international officials to travel through the blockade it has in place. Though Hamas controls Gaza, the United Nations has urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to allow aid to be dispersed to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the area. Both the United States and the European Union currently classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, with living conditions reported to be extremely poor, and in the wake of militant rocket attacks that prompted Israel to tighten its security around Gaza, UN officials have described the conditions there as the “worst ever” and sought to deliver supplies to Gazan residents in an effort to help them deal with the myriad problems that plague the area.
Paul Shapiro
