AL MONITOR  9-2-24 – Today’s edition offers a deep dive on how Israel’s inspection process of aid convoys entering Gaza is hindering deliveries and on an upcoming White House visit by Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Israeli impediments to Gaza aid distribution 

Aid organizations operating in the Gaza Strip are increasingly sounding the alarm — including in a recent meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken — over Israel’s  cumbersome inspection process for aid convoys that they say is impeding deliveries to the enclave, Elizabeth Hagedorn writes.

Sleeping bags, vitamin drink powder and an ultrasound machine are among the products that have been barred from entering Gaza under a restrictive Israeli policy focused on preventing the import of products that could be seized by Hamas for military purposes. Critics say the overly restrictive and cumbersome process leaves decision-making to the ad-hoc whims of inspection officers and further imperils Palestinians in the enclave, 85% of whom have been displaced.

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The UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, has been carrying the lion’s share of responsibility for distribution in Gaza but now finds itself on the brink of economic ruin amid accusations that a dozen of its staff members took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, causing a host of major donors, including the United States, its largest contributor, to suspend funding pending a UN investigation.