Hamas on Wednesday refused to allow two IDF trucks carrying several tons of medical supplies and equipment to enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
However, six UNICEF trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli and U.N. aid aims to alleviate the dire situation in Gaza, where hospitals are failing to meet the needs of the increasing number of Palestinians wounded in the border riots instigated by the terrorist group that controls the coastal enclave.
The Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities confirmed that Hamas had turned the trucks away. It said fuel was also distributed, even though Palestinian rioters on Sunday damaged sections of the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing – the only goods crossing into the Gaza Strip – causing more than $9 million in damage and disrupting the transfer of diesel fuel and building materials into Gaza. The attack crippled the main fuel and gas lines and caused damage to electrical infrastructure and other vital equipment.
Israel has urged Gazans to avoid approaching the security fence and has presented proof that Hamas pays civilians, including children, to riot near the border and clash with Israeli troops to fuel its propaganda efforts.
Monday's border riots left 58 dead and 2,700 wounded. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new charges of excessive use of force against unarmed protesters. U.N. Special Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said there was "no justification for the killing."
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley came to Israel's defense, saying no other country "would act with more restraint than Israel has" in a similar situation.
The White House also backed Israel, saying the responsibility for the tragic results of Monday's riots "rests squarely with Hamas."
Even before the latest round of bloodshed, Gaza's health system – 13 public hospitals and 14 clinics run by NGOs – had buckled under persistent blockade-linked shortages of medicines and surgical supplies.
At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, those woes were magnified this week.
Anticipating a major influx of casualties ahead of Monday's mass march, Shifa had set up an outdoor triage station with 30 beds and stretchers under a green and blue tarp in the hospital courtyard.
Shifa received about 500 injured people on Monday, more than 90% with gunshot wounds, said hospital director Dr. Ayman al-Sahabani. Of those, 192 needed surgery, including 120 who needed orthopedic surgery, he said.
By mid-afternoon Tuesday, overwhelmed surgeons working in 12 operating theaters had performed only 40 orthopedic operations, with 80 others still waiting their turn.
"We are talking about 25 times the capacity of the emergency department, with all the big challenges and the shortage of medicine and medical supplies that has reached critical levels," Sahabani said.
"A lot of these patients are waiting their turn to enter the operating rooms."
Sahabani said Gaza needs more vascular and orthopedic surgeons in particular, because of the nature of the injuries suffered.
There were no signs Tuesday that Hamas had made any breakthrough in shaking off the blockade.
Hamas has said protests will continue weekly, but it was not clear if it would be able to maintain momentum during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this week.
