The government media office in Gaza denied on Friday that mobile homes had entered the Gaza Strip for shelter purposes, clarifying that only a limited number designated for international organizations or field hospitals had entered.
“No mobile homes (caravans) have entered Gaza for sheltering purposes,” Ismail al-Thawabteh, the director of the government media office, said in a press release.
“The caravans that have entered are very few and are specifically allocated for international institutions or field hospitals, such as the mobile hospital sent by the Red Crescent Committee a few days ago,” he added.
Ahmed al-Soufi, the mayor of Rafah, told Anadolu that Israel allowed 15 mobile homes to enter Gaza on Thursday through the Rafah crossing directing them to international and UN institutions for use as offices.
Soufi called on the countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement to apply pressure on Israel to allow the entry of more mobile homes, tents, and construction materials to provide shelter for Palestinians.
“We need the Rafah crossing to be open around the clock and for hundreds of thousands of temporary housing units and construction materials to enter, as well as for specialized companies to begin debris removal and recycling operations,” he stressed.
Israel has been accused of obstructing the entry of “essential” humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, including 200,000 tents and 60,000 mobile homes, violating the ceasefire agreement, according to the government office.
On several occasions, the Palestinian group Hamas has called on mediators to pressure Israel to allow the entry of mobile homes and heavy equipment needed to remove rubble and recover the bodies of Palestinian victims.
The ceasefire deal took effect last month, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed at least 48,300 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.