Activists Against Gaza Aid Truck Passage: "Every Truck Strengthens Hamas, Reducing Chances for Another Hostage Deal"

In the months since the onset of the conflict, members of Command 9 have been actively working to block the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip. They have often succeeded, claiming that each successful block prevents food, fuel, and supplies from fueling terror against Israel.

Yesterday (Wednesday), hundreds of activists descended on Jerusalem, blocking the entrance to UNRWA offices at Ammunition Hill. At the entry, they placed a display featuring an organization vehicle adorned with bloody bodies, with the slogan "The blood is on your hands." Recently, it was revealed that some organization employees were involved in the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists during Simchat Torah in southern communities.

"Media Connection"

We sought to understand who is behind Command 9 and what motivates its founding. In an interview with Hidabroot, Debbie Sharon, one of the organizers, explains: "Command 9 was founded by the couple Reut and Sefi Ben-Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Observing the number of trucks passing into Gaza, they spontaneously succeeded in halting entry at Kerem Shalom crossing one day. They recruited others, and soon this action became almost a daily occurrence."

"The need was great," Sharon continues, "as the operation grew and the checkpoints became more complex due to police and military intervention. What began as a few people blocking trucks became more elaborate." She notes, "As the activity became more massive, it gained recognition. The media connected to it, as they say."

Does Command 9 currently succeed in stopping trucks from entering Gaza?

"It was important to us not to reach confrontations," Sharon emphasizes. "Other groups also came to block trucks, but those events are not to our liking – after all, we’re not the gatekeepers of Israel’s borders. We did everything to avoid physical confrontations with the authorities, not with the police or the army. There were unusual events, but mostly it passed smoothly. For a long time, we managed to block many trucks without confrontations."

Did the trucks really turn back?

"Yes. They stopped, lined up in queues, and did not enter. We know this because we saw the same trucks the next day. There was a period of extensive blockage – not total, but only a small percentage of trucks entered the strip, while the rest stayed outside."

Sharon describes the attempts to weaken the organization: "Attempts were made to shake our resolve, suggesting trucks would get in no matter what, but we saw the Gaza residents' anger over trucks not arriving. Our actions proved significant."

"Of course, we weren't there 24/7 and also not at all hours – we are people with lives beyond this – and it takes a sufficient number of people. But we do what we can."

"Reducing Chances for Another Deal"

Debbie pauses and says: "It's true that gradually airlifts and other methods of bringing in humanitarian aid began, but I say: every truck that doesn't enter Gaza is a clean gain. We're not against the 'mechanism' itself, but against each and every truck. Each truck that doesn't enter doesn't fuel Hamas, in every sense of the word."

"It's no secret, and we saw in the media: Hamas didn't allow residents there to receive the goods. There was nothing humanitarian about the truck entries. They simply strengthened Hamas, bolstered those we are at war with, and who hold hostages. This precisely reduces the chances for a subsequent hostage deal; the first deal was made when Hamas had no food. They were desperate. Only after the deal did they receive aid."

Sharon returns to the question of whether activists are still preventing truck entries: "We are continuing the struggle at a lower volume, also because it's clear our capabilities are reduced. Concrete barriers were built near the crossings, making it difficult to reach. It requires traipsing through fields, extraordinary detours to reach. Distribution times changed to lessen our ability to disrupt truck entries. Serious efforts are made by those wanting the trucks to enter, to obscure our efforts."

What are you doing then?

"We do what we can," Sharon asserts, "every day, every week. Each prevention weakens Hamas. The only way we agree to truck entry is under full military supervision to ensure supplies don’t reach Hamas."

"Additionally, we've added disrupting UNRWA's activities to our mission. It's clear to everyone they are Hamas. There are testimonies from many years, but October 7th opened our eyes to the nature of this organization."

While the organization's activists block the gates of UNRWA offices in Jerusalem, Rachel Libman, grandmother of Elikim Libman, who was kidnapped to Gaza, cries out from her heart: "You know where he is and where everyone is, you can bring him back now, with everyone else. Why don't you do it? Why don't you help them return to their families? It’s been over 160 days, we wait every day, expect every day, bring them back quickly today!"

Shlomo Sarid, co-founder of Command 9 and a soldier who left Gaza, said: "I was inside Gaza, my friends and I saw inside every kindergarten a tunnel, in every school a weapons cache, and all of UNRWA's educational materials inciting terror. One can understand that UNRWA is the backbone of Hamas – and we are at war with them."