Israeli peace activists protect Gaza-bound aid convoy from right-wing attack

Israel - A group of Israeli peace activists traveled with a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy on Sunday in an effort to protect it from members of the far-right, an AFP correspondent reported.

Activists from the Standing Together movement fill a truck with food aid at the parking lot of a shopping center of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon before driving in a convoy toward the border with the Gaza Strip on March 7, 2024, in a show of support for Palestinians.
Activists from the Standing Together movement fill a truck with food aid at the parking lot of a shopping center of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon before driving in a convoy toward the border with the Gaza Strip on March 7, 2024, in a show of support for Palestinians.  © JACK GUEZ / AFP

At least seven aid trucks from Jordan were stopped and ransacked last week by right-wing activists, prompting an Israeli police investigation and outcry from the US.

Sunday's aid convoy was comprised of about 30 trucks, and one was attacked by right-wingers.

Police removed one Israeli teenager from the scene after he threw some of the aid to the ground.

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"The settlers managed to knock some of the aid off the truck, but because we got here quickly and because the police did their job, very little food was lost or damaged, and we can continue forward until the aid reaches Gaza," said activist Suf Patishi, 32.

About 30 activists from Standing Together, a grassroots group, made the journey to the border with the embattled Palestinian territory on Sunday.

"These aid trucks, each truck can be the one tool that saves the life of a five-year-old child," said Oshra Bar, another activist.

War broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Hamas militants also seized about 250 hostages, 124 of whom Israel estimates remain in Gaza, including 37 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 35,456 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Israel has also imposed a siege on Gaza which has brought dire shortages of food, drinking water, medical supplies, and fuel, eased only occasionally by aid shipments and airdrops.

Cover photo: JACK GUEZ / AFP

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