Read more: Israel bombs the only Catholic church in Gaza
Israeli Army data clashes with that of the Gaza government, which reported only 73 trucks entering the Strip: about 35 from the World Food Programme (WFP), another 25 from the Egyptian Red Crescent, and an undetermined number from World Central Kitchen and private companies. According to Gazan sources, most of these 73 trucks were attacked. COGAT again accused the UN in the statement of not collecting the trucks entering the Strip, assuring that only a “more consistent collection and distribution by the agencies” of the United Nations and other international organizations will help the aid reach those who need it in the enclave. These agencies have been denouncing throughout the Israeli offensive, but especially since Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza on March 18, the long bureaucratic, logistical and administrative processes that they must carry out with the armed forces to get to the aid. Among them, the process for their convoys to go to the border to collect the contents of the trucks that enter, which requires constant permits from the Army to cross active combat zones and can take hours. Israel announced on Sunday the start of “tactical pauses” in the fighting in a strip along the Gazan coast from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time (7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. GMT) for “humanitarian purposes.” It also said it would guarantee the safety of several routes from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (3:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. GMT) to facilitate the passage of trucks from international organizations with aid. Asked by EFE, the Army has not clarified what these routes are. However, the troops opened fire on the population at the Zikim crossing when they were expecting the access of aid within the established hours, causing around a dozen deaths according to local health authorities.Before the war, about 500 trucks with aid entered Gaza daily, which international organizations already considered insufficient.
