ROME (Reuters) -Israel is blocking 250 tons of aid for Gaza, including food, medical supplies and educational material, because of disagreements over its content, an Italian charity involved in last month’s international flotilla said on Thursday.
Italy’s Music for Peace NGO said it collected large quantities of aid as part of a mobilisation in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was seeking to breach Israel’s naval blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
About 40 tons were loaded on boats that joined the flotilla from Italy, and which were blocked by Israel with the rest of the convoy. Another 250 tons should have been delivered to Gaza via Jordan, but were stranded in the Italian port of Genoa, the charity said.
“They told us that with a few phone calls, in three hours the aid would have been in. Well, we’ve been trying for four weeks, and the end result is that we have been refused”, Stefano Rebora, head of the NGO, said in a press conference.
Speaking in the Italian parliament, Rebora said one of the sticking points was an Israeli request to remove so-called high-energy food products, such as biscuits and honey, from the shipment, a demand his organisation refused to comply with.
Rebora also said there were disagreements with Israeli authorities over the registration and accreditation of the Italian charity and its local agents.
COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, rejected claims it blocks high-energy food products, and took aim at “certain international organisations (who) falsely portray Israel as obstructing the entry of humanitarian aid.”
An Israeli military official said refusal by some international organisations to cooperate with a registration process raised “serious concerns” about their intentions and possible links to militant group Hamas.
Hamas has denied Israeli accusations that it diverts aid.
Israel and Hamas signed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal on Thursday for the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
The plan includes provisions to increase aid.
(Reporting by Anna Uras; additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem; editing by Alvise Armellini and Aidan Lewis)
