During the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March, some 600 aid trucks entered Gaza each day.
Fletcher said an additional four U.N. trucks were cleared to enter Gaza.
Allies pressure Israel In a video statement, Netanyahu said Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger.
Aid into Gaza would be “minimal,” Netanyahu said, and would act as a bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza.
Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — After nearly three months of Israel’s blockade of food, medicine, and other supplies, the first few aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, according to Israel and the UN, which also acknowledged mounting pressure from allies, including the US.
According to the Israeli defense organization in charge of organizing aid to Gaza, COGAT, five trucks carrying baby food and other urgently needed aid entered the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The U. N. . While describing the trucks as a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed,” humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called it a “welcome development.”. Experts on food security issued a famine warning for Gaza last week. About 600 aid trucks per day entered Gaza during the most recent ceasefire, which Israel ended in March.
Fletcher added four U’s. No. Trucks were allowed entry into Gaza. Tuesday, according to COGAT, those trucks might enter. According to Fletcher, considering the tumultuous circumstances on the ground, the U. No. believes the aid may be stolen or looted, which is becoming a bigger issue as resources become more limited.
When allies said they couldn’t back Israel’s new military offensive if there were “images of hunger” emanating from the Palestinian territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he decided to resume “minimal” aid to Gaza.
Israel declared that the first trucks had entered Gaza shortly after the U.S. K. . A scathing joint statement from France and Canada referred to the aid as “wholly inadequate.”. For its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, they threatened Israel with “concrete actions,” including sanctions, and urged it to halt its “egregious” new military operations in Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, denounced the joint statement, calling it “a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7.”. “”.
The army ordered the evacuation of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, where a massive operation earlier in the 19-month war left much of the area in ruins, and Israel launched a fresh round of air and ground operations across the territory over the weekend.
Israel claims that it is exerting pressure on Hamas to free the other hostages that were kidnapped in October. attack that started the war on July 7, 2023. According to Hamas, they will only be freed in return for an Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire.
Israeli plans to “take control of all of Gaza” were reiterated by Netanyahu on Monday. He has declared that Israel will support what he refers to as the voluntary migration of a large portion of Gaza’s population abroad, a move that the Palestinians have opposed.
The Allies put pressure on Israel.
“We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, quoting Israel’s “greatest friends in the world.”. That is intolerable to us. We will be unable to assist you. “”.
Growing concern over the hunger crisis has come from the Trump administration, which has stated its full support for Israel’s actions and blamed Hamas for deaths in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump, who did not visit Israel during his trip to the region last week, expressed their concerns.
Netanyahu’s video statement seemed to be an attempt to calm his nationalist base’s ire over the decision to resume aid. Netanyahu has come under pressure from two far-right ruling partners to limit aid entering Gaza.
Netanyahu declared that aid would be “minimal” in Gaza and would serve as a transitional measure before a new aid system is established there. An U. S. . -backed organization will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
Israel claims the strategy is intended to keep Hamas from receiving aid, which it claims it uses to strengthen its hold on Gaza.
U. “N.”. The plan has been rejected by agencies and aid organizations, who claim it will not reach enough people and will weaponize aid in violation of humanitarian principles. They have not agreed to participate.
Aid officials who are familiar with the plan say it will primarily involve the establishment of distribution points in southern Gaza, which will force a large number of Palestinians to relocate south once more. Hundreds of thousands of northerners returned to their homes as a result of the recent ceasefire.
danger of penalties.
The U.S., Canada, and France statement. K. . marked one of their most important critiques of Israel’s conduct in the occupied West Bank and its management of the war in Gaza.
Declaring them unlawful, the three nations declared, “We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank.”.
While claiming to have always backed Israel’s right to self-defense against terrorism, the nations criticized the military buildup in Gaza as being out of proportion. The nations had previously chastised the new U. A. -supported a plan to deliver aid in Gaza, claiming it would violate humanitarian guidelines.
Regarding settler violence in the West Bank, Canada has already placed Israel under a number of sanctions during the past two years. The extent to which France, as a member of the European Union, can act unilaterally was not clear.
The foreign ministers of Germany, Italy, Japan, and eighteen other nations, excluding the United States, demanded in a separate letter on Monday that Israel completely resume U.S. delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. N. as well as non-profit groups.
When Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, they killed about 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and kidnapped 251 more, sparking the start of the war in Gaza. A third of the 58 hostages that the militants still hold are thought to be alive, as the majority of the others were given back in ceasefire agreements or other agreements.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, reports that Israel’s retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed over 53,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children.
Approximately 90% of its population has been displaced by the war, the majority of them more than once.
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