Jerusalem, Nov 11 (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of

Jerusalem, Nov 11 (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of

Jerusalem, Nov 11 (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of

Jerusalem, Nov 11 (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of winter supplies into the Gaza Strip as the enclave faces worsening conditions this week, with severe rains flooding makeshift tents.

     He said Israel was not to blame for the worsening conditions for Palestinians in Gaza's tent camps that have been hit with severe winter floods.

     His remarks came after the US-created Board of Peace — established under US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Israel-Hamas war and oversee Gaza's recovery — said Monday that Israel's delaying of the entry of winter supplies into Gaza had “exacerbated the consequences of a foreseeable humanitarian challenge”.

     Torrential rain has battered the war-torn enclave in recent days, damaging tens of thousands of makeshift tents. Four people, including three children, were killed on Sunday when a large sandstone slab collapsed onto tents during the rains.

     Netanyahu said the Palestinian militant group Hamas is to blame because it continues to refuse to disarm, a condition of the deal announced by Trump, and seizes humanitarian aid in order to use it for military purposes.

     “Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza, and it is now cynically exploiting that suffering to shift blame onto Israel once again,” he said on Tuesday.

     British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the situation in Gaza was “intolerable” and demanded Israel end “arbitrary restrictions” on aid. And in Washington, Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the top Democrat on the Senate's foreign spending subcommittee, called for Israel to immediately allow winter gear into Gaza.

     “There are a lot of challenges when it comes to Israel and Palestine that are complicated, and fraught, and contentious,” Schatz said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. “But we should all be able to agree that repairing torn tents and helping people to dry out, and providing warmth to freezing children is a basic human obligation.” (AP) SCY

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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)