While US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the region on her mission to “make life easier” for the Palestinian Authority Arabs, Israel has continued to open the Gaza crossings for humanitarian purposes day by day.
On Monday the Foreign Ministry released its monthly report summarizing the number of times each Gaza crossing was opened and how much and which supplies were delivered into the region.
All deliveries are coordinated with the Defense Ministry’s Coordination Unit for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
Here’s the breakdown for the month of March:
Sufa Crossing: 7,151 truckloads of food and supplies
Karni Crossing: 8,008 truckloads of various grains
Kerem Shalom Crossing: 502 truckloads of food and supplies
Nahal Oz Crossing: 6,954,014 liters of fuel
3,394 tons of heating gas
Supplies are transferred through the Karni Crossing through a conveyer, due to their nature. Generally the deliveries into Gaza through the Karni Crossing are wheat, animal feed and various grains such as barley, sesame seeds, legumes and corn.
The Sufa Crossing is used primarily for the delivery of various food products such as meat, fish, hatching eggs (for chicken production), powdered milk, fruit, sugar, flour, oil, coffee, ketchup, mayonnaise, food preservatives, rice, garlic, peas and other produce. Sometimes non-food essentials such as diapers and paper products are delivered through the Sufa Crossing as well.
The Kerem Shalom Crossing is used for transfer of a variety of humanitarian supplies into the region, including toilet paper, diapers, medical supplies, medical equipment, medication, blankets, tea, soup, vitamins, fruit, tea, coffee, powdered milk, hatching eggs (for chicken farms), corn, pasta, carrots, techina, frozen meat, fish and oil as well as other items.
In addition, 25 Palestinian Authority residents of the region entering Israeli hospital crossing through the terminals for specialized treatment in Israeli hospitals.