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Unprecedented Humanitarian Aid Efforts


21 January 2009 , 16:52



Over 1,300 trucks transported humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Photo: IDF Spokesperson


Over 1,300 trucks transporting humanitarian aid to the civilians of the Gaza Strip, passed through the different crossings throughout the length of Operation Cast Lead. Approximately 1,300 trucks were transported through Israel to the Gaza Strip via Kerem Shalom Crossing and approximately 65 trucks via Karni Crossing. In addition, 1,711 liters of diesel fuel for heating purposes, 96 thousand liters of diesel fuel for transportation purposes, 234 tons of natural gas, and 282 thousand liters of diesel fuel provided especially for UNRWA.

The Coordination and Communication Headquarters is pleased with its unprecedented humanitarian efforts, during which 120 humanitarian officers were deployed throughout the field, from the Command and the Division headquarters to the frontline command posts in the field. “The humanitarian aid given during the course of the operation was unprecedented in its extent, and was carried out under the difficult reality of serious security threats against our forces and the continuous perverse abuse of civilian devices by Hamas,” says the Head of the Coordination and Communication Headquarters in the Gaza Strip, Col. Moshe Levi.

Throughout the operation, the Headquarters coordinated the evacuation of 382 injured Palestinians from the combat zones, in addition to 1,150 uninvolved Palestinians from those zones. In addition to this, the Headquarters facilitated the entrance of 17 fire trucks to different fire centers, and of several professional teams that took care of the repair of infrastructural problems in the combat zones.

The evacuation of 460 Palestinian foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip to Israel through Erez Crossing was also facilitated. The officers of the Coordination and Communication Headquarters also coordinated the transfer of 500 trucks and 131 ambulances from the northern to the southern Gaza Strip.

All of the efforts were put forth to benefit the civilian population in the Gaza Strip that is not affiliated with the Hamas terror organization.