Israel Temporarily Closes Aid Corridor After Hamas Attack

Jerusalem, 6 August, 2024 (TPS) -- Israel temporarily closed a humanitarian aid route in Gaza on Tuesday after Hamas fired a rocket-propelled grenade at soldiers near Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces said.

No soldiers were injured. Air Force jets struck the building where the attack came from, killing one terrorist.

It came on the heels of another attack in which seven soldiers in Rafah were injured when a terrorist threw a grenade at them.

According to the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) 274 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza on Monday. Of that number, 225 entered the Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing adjacent to the Egyptian border and another 49 trucks arrived through the Erez crossing. COGAT is a unit within the Israeli Defense Ministry that coordinates civilian issues in Judea, Samaria and Gaza between the Israeli government, military, international organizations and the Palestinian Authority.

When Hamas slashed food prices in April, Gaza residents told The Press Service of Israel that the problem wasn’t a lack of food but a shortage of money for families to purchase it.

A study released in June by researchers from several Israeli hospitals, universities and the Health Ministry concluded that Hamas posed the biggest threat to Gaza food security by hijacking food deliveries and firing rockets at border crossings where aid transfers take place.

The assassination of Hamas’s Minister of Economy Abed Al-Zeriei on Monday will also have repercussions on aid deliveries. The army said Al-Zeriei played a significant role in directing Hamas’s efforts to seize control of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and managing Hamas-controlled markets. The IDF added that Al-Zeriei was also responsible for the distribution of fuel, gas, and funds for terror purposes.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 115 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.