Israel plans to block aid through Rafah — Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel has informed Egyptian and Palestinian coordination bodies of its intention to block the entry of goods and humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, the Israeli side cited the alleged smuggling of prohibited goods, including cigarettes, tobacco products and other items whose entry into the enclave Israel prohibits.
The Israeli side also initially turned back more than 20 patients and 35 relatives accompanying them who had left through Rafah for treatment, citing security considerations. Several hours later, the patients were told that they could nevertheless continue their journey.
Shortages and rising prices
Supplies through the Kerem Shalom crossing also remain under strict Israeli control. According to the publication, the volume of goods entering has not returned to the level seen before the latest crisis: at that time, cargo deliveries to Gaza stopped for a week, while limited supplies resumed about ten days ago.
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The Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported an acute shortage of essential goods, record price increases and an almost complete loss of the population's purchasing power. Its director, Maher al-Tabbaa, said that Israel permits the import of about 200 types of goods under strict restrictions. According to him, prices have risen by 500–600%, while prices for goods whose import Israel has banned have increased by 2000–3000%.
Raid on a displaced persons camp
The security situation in the Gaza Strip is also deteriorating amid Israeli airstrikes and operations by armed groups in areas occupied by Israeli forces, Asharq Al-Awsat writes. The publication describes the so-called yellow line as a conditional boundary between territories in eastern Gaza controlled by Israel and areas in the west where Hamas and other Palestinian groups operate.
According to sources and eyewitnesses, armed men entered a camp for displaced persons near the Abu Hamid roundabout in the central-eastern part of Khan Younis during the night between Sunday and Monday. They searched tents and opened fire, after which, the sources claim, they abducted more than 35 members of the Barbah family, including teenagers. More than ten hours later, most of them were released, but four young men were kept for questioning. One source said that those released reported being interrogated by Israeli officers.
