The United Nations has begun distributing humanitarian aid from the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla, which the Israel Defense Forces raided in May, Reuters reports.
“The first truckloads of the Turkish flotilla cargo entered Gaza yesterday,” the U.N. press office said in a statement.
“The United Nations is working on distributing those goods to appropriate beneficiaries,” it said. “The rest of the cargo is scheduled to enter Gaza in the weeks ahead.”
The first items to enter the Gaza strip by land were 82 battery-powered scooters for the handicapped.
“Israel had considered withholding the batteries and chargers for the scooters, fearing that they could be diverted to military use. World Health Organizations officials eventually convinced Israel to let the batteries into Gaza. 128 trucks lined up along the Israeli border, carrying the ships’ former cargo into Gaza,” David Kenner wrote in the Foreign Policy.
