Items banned by Israel include operating tables, scalpels and vaporizers for people with respiratory disorders. The IDF said its policy is ‘not a blanket ban,’ saying it has allowed ‘dual-use’ products that could also be used by Hamas to enter Gaza ‘despite the security risks’
Israel is preventing the entry of medical equipment into the Gaza Strip, claiming it is “dual-use” and could be exploited by Hamas or other terrorist groups not only for its intended medical purposes but also for weaponry or infrastructure development.
The complete list of banned equipment, which was compiled in June and obtained by Haaretz, includes essential items for Gaza’s healthcare system, including operating tables, scalpels and components for ultrasound machines, as well as items that could be used to build shelters for the civilian population.
Aid organizations submitted a request to allow the items in after all equipment was banned from entering the Gaza Strip at the outbreak of the war, with the exception of a limited list approved by the security establishment.
The expanded list rejected by Israel includes, among other things, tents, tarpaulins, storage units, solar panels, fire extinguishers, batteries and more.
The organizations must also contend with Israeli policies that restrict the entry of humanitarian goods. For more than two months, from early March to the middle of May, Israel completely barred food and humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.
Organizations are also prohibited from bringing in generators, prefabricated buildings for mobile health clinics, car and office radios and steam-cleaning devices. Operating tables, scalpels and carts for storing anesthetic drugs are also banned from entering the Gaza Strip.
Other equipment includes machinery used for ultrasound tests, as well as blood count measurement kits, vaporizers for people suffering from respiratory disorders, freezers for preserving vaccines and biological samples, orthopedic sets, blood bank refrigerators and more.
The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said the military’s policy regarding “dual-use” products “is not a blanket ban, and throughout the war, Israel allowed and facilitated the entry of items of dual-use equipment in order to enable and facilitate the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, despite the security risks involved.”
According to the IDF, “The transfer of dual-use goods and products to the Gaza Strip is approved subject to obtaining a permit and a security assessment by the authorized security agencies.”
The military said its policy is designed to “prevent the transfer of products that are used systematically by the Hamas terrorist organization to advance terrorist goals and military buildup.”
The IDF said it has allowed “equipment for shelters, including tents, equipment for establishing field hospitals, medical equipment, equipment for repairing essential infrastructure, and more” to enter the Gaza Strip.
Since deliveries have been allowed again due to international pressure, Israel has let in a minimal amount of food and other goods, with organizations bringing in just 1,500 truckloads over two months.
The most acute challenge is fuel. Until last Wednesday, Israel had completely blocked the entry of fuel to the Strip for 130 days. On Wednesday and Thursday last week, only small amounts were let in – too little, according to the United Nations, to address Gaza’s energy crisis.
Besides fuel, humanitarian organizations have been met with difficulties in bringing in basic medical and humanitarian equipment. Israel also classifies this equipment as “dual-use.”
The movement of international humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip is severely restricted, and all travel must be coordinated with the army. This past weekend, two Red Cross workers were wounded, and since the start of the war, hundreds of aid workers have been killed.
Throughout the years of the Gaza blockade, Israel has periodically published detailed lists of dual-use equipment that it banned from entering Gaza.
Since the outbreak of the war, the system has worked in reverse – all goods and equipment are prohibited, except that which is explicitly permitted. Thus, organizations’ requests to bring in equipment are often rejected.
- Photo: A makeshift ward at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City, last week.Credit: Jehad Alshrafi/AP