At least two Palestinians, aged 17 and 15 years, were killed and others wounded after an Israeli air force attack near Rafah, in southern Gaza. Local medical sources said that the two victims were both civilians. The aerial attack was preceded by an incursion of tanks in the airport area, engaging in a battle with Armed Palestinians who tried to slow the advance of the armored vehicles in the area. Meanwhile, the Association of International Aid Agencies (AIDA), today, a conglomerate of NGO's operating in the territory, has denounced in a communiqué "the unprecedented refusal to allow any humanitarian aid in Gaza". The document adds that "in the past three weeks, the situation in Gaza has deteriorated in a significant manner" and at least 12 NGO's have been refused access to Gaza: "NGO's have been forbidden from taking basic goods such as diapers, essential medicines and construction material, while ad hoc approvals have been requested to cross borders, with long and unexplainable delays or outright refusals of authorization - says the document - limiting the impact of aid for the civilian population". Moroever, in light of the fact that "no member of the press was authorized to enter Gaza since last November 5", the signatories of the document note that "a free and neutral information is a basic pillar of western democracies". The NGO's suggest that Gaza is now far more insecure than before the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel, which was launched last July, and that the use "of arguments related to security may justify restrictions imposed since the start of November". They ask that the Israeli government ensure the access conditions and the functioning of the ongoing programs in Gaza, "eliminating the limits and bans whose effects on the humanitarian level for the people of Gaza are too frightening even to contemplate."
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