Five aid trucks enter Gaza, and Israel will supply food to prevent the hunger crisis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office reported that the decision was made on the recommendation of the Israeli military to continue expanding its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the evacuation of Gaza's second largest city, Khan Yunis, was ordered.
The first vehicles have entered Gaza after nearly three months of Israeli blockade of the territory, the United Nations has confirmed. Five trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the territory of more than two million Palestinians on Monday through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, according to COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza
The UN praised the delivery as a positive step, but said much more aid is needed to address the humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the decision to resume limited aid deliveries to Gaza following the blockade that began on March 2 came after pressure from allies, who said they could not support Israel's renewed military offensive if "images of hunger" emerged from the Palestinian territory.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he made the decision to "avoid a famine in the Gaza Strip," as this would "jeopardize the continuation of Operation Gideon's Chariots." The operation was launched this weekend in the Palestinian enclave to seize more territory, resulting in more than 100 deaths a day and tens of thousands of displaced people.
"Israel will work to deny Hamas the ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian aid, to ensure that aid does not reach Hamas terrorists," the statement said.
In recent weeks, Israel has unveiled a US-backed plan to carry out the operation at a few distribution points in southern Gaza, guarded by the Israeli military and operated by a US foundation made up of private security contractors.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it sees as an attempt to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Hamas has responded that it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israeli military withdrawal from the territory. Netanyahu has said that Israel plans to "take control of all of Gaza" and establish a new aid distribution system that bypasses Hamas.
A red line in Gaza
The Trump administration has expressed full support for Israel's actions and blames Hamas for the devastation wrought on Palestinians, although in recent days it has expressed growing concern about the hunger crisis. Trump, who did not visit Israel on his trip to the Middle East last week, expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said during a visit to Turkey that he was "concerned" about it.
In a video statement posted on social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's "best friends in the world" had told him: "We cannot accept images of hunger, of mass hunger. We cannot stand for it. We will not be able to support you."
Netanyahu said the situation was approaching a "red line," but it was unclear whether he was referring to the Gaza crisis or the potential loss of support from allies. The video statement appeared to be aimed at appeasing the anger of the Israeli prime minister's nationalist base over the decision to resume aid.
Two Israeli government partners have pressured Netanyahu to block aid flows to Gaza. At least one of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, appeared to agree with the latest plan.
"No more incursions or entry and exit, but conquer, cleanse, and remain until Hamas is destroyed," Smotrich said. "We are destroying what remains of the Strip, simply because everything there is one big terror city."
Israel says its new distribution plan aims to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which it claims is using to strengthen its control over Gaza. However, UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the proposal, arguing that the supplies will not reach enough people and that aid would be used as a weapon, thus contravening humanitarian principles
Some 60,000 children suffer from acute malnutrition
In its message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office spoke only of allowing food into the country, although the blockade Israel has maintained since March 2 also affects medicines, drinking water, fuel, and all other supplies.
The blockade has caused hundreds of trucks to remain stuck along the Gaza border, unable to provide aid to more than 60,000 starving children, according to UNICEF, who are already suffering from acute malnutrition.