For more than five months, 15,000 boxes of medicine for children, including cold and other essential treatments, have been held in a warehouse after being prevented by Israeli authorities from entering the Gaza Strip.
The shipments have been barred on the grounds that trace amounts of glycerin — a standard component in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics — could potentially be used by Hamas to manufacture explosives. There is no evidence to suggest that Hamas possesses or would acquire the capability to produce such weapons.
Aid organizations have requested clarification on the allowable quantity of glycerin, but Israel has declined to respond, leaving the medical supplies in limbo.
Mike