SBS has run a news item that completely fails to provide any context for why the Israeli government has decided to close the Kerem Shalom crossing to commercial traffic. Listening to the SBS news clip one might construe that Israel is just wanting to be nasty and make life more difficult for the people living in Gaza. The malevolent view is expressed that Israel is committing a ‘crime against humanity’.
Although Israel has decided to block the flow of commercial goods in and out of Gaza, the IDF has said that humanitarian aid — including food and medicine — is still being allowed through, albeit with case-by-case approval of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).