Dozens of Israeli activists from the "Tsav 9" movement blocked Humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza on Thursday close to Mitzpe Ramon, after they blocked overnight in the Eilat area. Large police forces that included Border Police units were dispatched to the scene, while protestors attempted to hold the trucks back at the Kerem Shalom border crossing as well.
"Tsav 9" said that over 20 activists were detained due to their disruption of the trucks’ movement, which made their way to Gaza with the government’s approval. Mitzpe Ramon Mayor Eliyah Winter also participated in blocking the trucks.
"The State of Israel has forgotten who the enemy is," members of the movement, whose activists have delayed the arrival of humanitarian aid to the Strip on more than one occasion in recent months, said. "Israel is doing everything it can to deliver aid to murderers, the public has awakened everywhere, they want the hostages back home and aren’t willing to indulge [Yahya] Sinwar."
According to the "Tsav 9" movement, "It’s absurd that resources are being used to deliver aid to instead of putting them to use in making sure they don’t reach Hamas." At the beginning of the war, senior government officials rushed to declare they would not allow the supply of aid to the Gaza Strip, but relented to increasing international pressure on Israel as the fighting carried on.
The parents of Sergeant Inon Itzhak, a resident of Mitzpe Ramon who was killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip, are also participating in the protest. Sergeant Itzhak was killed by a Hamas explosive which denotated close to him.
“The activists are determined and promise to fight until the hostages return home. After a night of blockades in Eilat, the blockade in the Mitzpe Ramon area began in the morning hours, alongside another blockade at the Kerem Shalom crossing,” the movement said in a statement.