In early October, after the siege against northern Gaza was tightened and the attacks in the region increased, the Gisha human rights organization petitioned the High Court of Justice, in cooperation with other human rights organizations, to issue an interim order requiring Israel to enable full access to humanitarian aid necessary for the survival of the civilian population in the area.
At that point it was already clear that the overall quantity of goods entering the Strip, and the northern part in particular, had dramatically been reduced. According to the figures published by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, COGAT, the quantity of goods entering in October is the lowest since the start of the year, and in effect the lowest ever – even less than in November 2023.
The restrictions imposed by Israel on bringing goods to Gaza's private sector, which is a significant source of merchandise that could increase the local market's supply during a situation of poverty that is severe in any case, have caused food prices to soar even higher.
In its response to the High Court, the government confirmed that for several weeks there has been no "coordination of movement" into northern Gaza, and even admitted that it continues blocking the entry of aid to the northern part of the Strip. The government attempted to justify the withholding of aid by citing "operational constraints" stemming from the fighting, but this is a manipulative and even absurd claim.
Israel's obligations in the region stem from the combat situation itself. The response demonstrates a prolonged violation of international law, which determines that deliberate denial of humanitarian aid to civilians is a war crime.
This claim by the government is also an example of its habitual use of gaslighting tactics, which obfuscate the truth, help it to disclaim responsibility for the humanitarian disaster and confuses the public regarding its obligations to the civilian population in Gaza. The article by Bar Peleg about the decline in the quantities of aid, reflected the use of this tactic by COGAT, which claimed that the main reason for blocking supplies is "a decline in international aid – rather than restrictions imposed by the government," and that "hundreds of trucks loaded with equipment are still waiting on the Gazan side and aren't being collected."
This is partial or irrelevant use of information. There really are hundreds of trucks waiting at the passes, but that's because conditions on the ground – for which Israel is responsible – are preventing the organizations from transferring the humanitarian aid to the needy. The organizations warn time after time about the dangers they face due to the fighting in the area as well as violent seizures and looting of the deliveries by armed men. They report that about half of their requests for coordination with the Israel Defense Forces are rejected, and they're prevented from being able to reach the residents.
The unrelenting military assault throughout Gaza has caused the destruction of infrastructure, roads have become impassable, and the army restricts movement on the access roads to collection points for goods on the Palestinian side of the passes.
Additionally, aid delegations are delayed in the Strip by army checkpoints while on the way from the south to the north. In many cases soldiers in the area prevent their movement, so that aid delegations are forced to turn back. Many of the organizations' workers have lost their lives, after their crossing was coordinated with Israel, but despite that they weren't given protection on the ground.
That's how Israel diverts the blame from itself and directs it at the aid organizations, disavowing its own responsibility. Since the start of the war the State of Israel has reviled the work of the aid organizations and has been trying to blame them for its failures, but absurdly, during the hearing in the High Court, the government boasted of close cooperation with the organizations.
Even the assertion by COGAT that "large-scale efforts" are being invested by Israel "to enable and ease the transfer of aid to the Gaza Strip in coordination with the United States, Egypt, the United Nations and international aid organizations," is a blatant example of gaslighting. In addition to the fact that international law requires Israel to enable the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip – an obligation that it is failing to meet – because it is a party to the combat and an occupying power, its obligations, as determined by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, are not limited to the entry of aid for the Palestinian side, but are met only when it reaches the protected population that is in need of it.
Another example of the tactic of false pretenses lies in the "assessment" presented by COGAT in the High Court, to the effect that "There are sufficient reserves [of aid] in the north" of the Strip. It's worth lingering on this assessment, because it's groundless, and clearly contradicts the reports of the aid organizations. The UN Standing Committee on Nutrition even published a warning this week about additional deterioration in the humanitarian disaster and possibility of crossing the threshold of starvation in the northern Strip. Although the High Court has often demanded of the government to present a database on which its decisions are based, the government has evaded doing so.
In the context of the petition, which was filed eight months ago, Israel admitted that an increase in the amount of aid leads to a reduction in the incidents of looting. But instead of investing efforts in that, COGAT makes do with an ostensibly concerned declaration about "an obligation to enable an effective humanitarian response." This is at a time when in effect Israel is doing exactly the opposite: It's preventing the distribution of aid and making it difficult for the organizations active in the field, in every way possible. And so, by resorting to manipulation, distorting the facts and concealment, Israel is in effect implementing horrifying plans that include a policy of starving the population.
Meanwhile the High Court continues to grant the government repeated opportunities to divert the blame from itself and to present a false narrative to the effect that it's meeting its obligations according to international law. In doing so it's also cooperating with the State of Israel's gaslighting.
The writer is a spokeswoman for the Gisha human rights organization, which works to promote the freedom of movement of Palestinians and goods, mainly to and from Gaza