Anesthetics, crutches, dates. Inside Israel’s ghost list of items arbitrarily denied entry into Gaza

Al-Zarqa, Jordan — Humanitarian workers and government officials working to deliver urgently needed aid for Gaza say a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction, as disease and near-famine grip parts of the besieged enclave. A White House readout of a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani on Thursday said both leaders agreed the horrific event underscored “the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.” US Senator Chris Murphy said the situation was “a result of the complete breakdown in social order in Gaza, which is spiraling out of control without a massive influx of humanitarian aid and a pause in the fighting.” Video Ad Feedback CNN saw what's inside aid packs destined for Gaza, and investigates why they're not reaching civilians 05:41 - Source: CNN For months, queues of trucks bound for the enclave have been backed up along the highway leading from the Egyptian town of Arish, a major logistical hub for aid, to the Rafah crossing with Gaza. It’s deliberately opaque, deliberately ambiguous Senior humanitarian official “While there’s a war being fought in Gaza, we are fighting a different war here,” said one humanitarian worker at Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza. “They said they’d never seen a more broken system.” The situation prompted Van Hollen to spearhead US congressional efforts to hold Israel accountable for its handling of humanitarian aid, which he described on the Senate floor earlier this month as a “textbook war crime.” Israel’s elusive guidelines on restricted items Publicly, COGAT claims that it has abided by its 2008 banned items list. “Where do you draw the line?” one humanitarian source involved in the aid operation told CNN, referring to Israel’s elusive criteria on dual use items.