NYT Corrects Report Claiming Aid Trucks Entering Gaza Weren’t Checked For Weapons

The New York Times corrected a report on Saturday that the publication said misquoted the chief spokesman of the United Nations Secretary General’s office. 

Over the weekend, the Times reported that U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that the 20 aid shipments that entered Gaza on Saturday were not inspected before crossing the border with Egypt, meaning that weapons could have potentially been included in the trucks. A correction to that statement was issued shortly after. 

“Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misquoted Stéphane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for the U.N. secretary general’s office,” the statement from the Times said. “Mr. Dujarric did not say the first aid convoy that crossed from Egypt into Gaza had not been inspected for weapons. He said the Israeli side was fully aware of their contents.”

The initial report claimed that the inventories of the trucks had been provided to Egypt, the United Nations, and Israel, in addition to paperwork – but that their contents had not been inspected, based on a misquotation from Dujarric. According to the Times, the verification of the contents of cargo has been a major demand from Israel in attempts to prevent weapons and other non-aid items from being smuggled into Gaza. 

“All of the equipment was checked before going into Gaza,” Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians said following the report from the Times, saying that only water, food, and medical equipment were sent. “We emphasize that Israel is able to make sure that nothing goes in or out except the aforementioned.”

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However, the same corrected report also cited anonymous sources who said that the truckloads of aid “did not require physical inspections” because they were part of an “expedited process.” Future shipments, the report notes, would not be sent under that process. Once across the border, the aid was set to be distributed by a nonprofit called the “Palestine Red Crescent Society,” an organization founded by Yassar Arafat’s brother. 

The 20 trucks that made their way into Gaza through the Rafah Crossing reportedly included food, water, and medicine, but no fuel, as Israel fears Hamas would use fuel for their vehicles or weapons. On Sunday, however, Egyptian sources and officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said that six trucks carrying fuel crossed into Gaza from Egypt. Journalists from the Associated Press at the Rafah Crossing reported that they had witnessed seven fuel trucks enter Gaza on Sunday. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Israel’s defense ministry body COGAT dispute any reports of fuel entering Gaza. 

At least 17 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza on Sunday, according to Egyptian state-run media. Saturday’s shipment was the first since Hamas carried out a devastating attack on Israel two weeks ago, killing more than 1,400 people in the country and wounding thousands more. According to the Associated Press, approximately 200 trucks holding roughly 3,000 tons of aid for Gaza are waiting in Egypt.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza were “essential.” 

“We will continue to work with all parties to keep the Rafah crossing in operation to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza, and to continue working to protect civilians, consistent with obligations under international humanitarian law,” Biden said.