Part of Hope convoy gains access to Gaza

A delegation of European parliament members and pro-Palestinian activists toured key sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after arriving with a shipment of medical supplies on Monday night.

Twenty-two members of the Hope for Gaza Convoy entered through the Rafah crossing after Egypt turned dozens of other riders back at the border. The hundred-strong party travelled from Italy with ambulances and truckloads of wheelchairs and other supplies that have been made scarce in Gaza by Israel’s import restrictions.

The delegation visited Gaza’s largest hospital, Ash-Shifa, delivering some of the medical supplies there. Doctors explained the conditions of treatment for the sick and wounded.

Then the delegation went to the the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) building, which was destroyed by an Israeli air raid in January. Acting PLC speaker Ahmad Bahar received the group there.

Bahar praised the efforts the delegation made to enter Gaza, and expressed regret for the Egypt’s action. He called on Egyptian authorities to facilitate the entrance of solidarity delegations and to open the Rafah crossing permanently.

The delegation also bore witness to the destruction left behind by Israel’s army, in the Atatra, Saltayn and Izbat Abed Rabbo areas.

Israel’s three-week onslaught on Gaza in December and January left nearly 1,500 Palestinians dead. A two-year long blockade has also made reconstruction impossible, as all building materials are prohibited by Israel.

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