Israel prevents entry of heavy machinery into Gaza, says official

Israel has only allowed six small machines to remove rubble from the Gaza Strip while preventing the entry of hundreds more that are desperately needed, Anadolu Agency reported.

Ismail Thawabteh, director of the Gaza government's Media Office, told Anadolu that “the Gaza Strip needs 500 heavy equipment units, including bulldozers, excavators, cranes and others”.

He stressed that Gaza is experiencing “a suffocating humanitarian crisis due to the lack of equipment and heavy machinery needed for rubble removal, opening the roads, and recovering thousands of corpses”.

He noted that Israel’s decision to allow only six machines reflects its “state of ignorance regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.