The first aid trucks have entered Gaza following nearly three months of Israel’s complete blockade of food, medicine and other supplies, Israel and the United Nations said Monday.
Five trucks carrying baby food and other aid entered the territory of over 2 million Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT.
The UN called it a “welcome development” but said far more aid is needed to address the vast humanitarian crisis. Food security experts last week warned of famine in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said his decision to resume limited, “basic” aid to Gaza came after pressure from allies who said they couldn't support Israel's renewed military offensive if there are “images of hunger” coming from the Palestinian territory.
The UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said the few trucks were a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.” He said an additional four UN trucks were cleared to enter Gaza. Those trucks may enter tomorrow, according to COGAT.
During the ceasefire, some 600 aid trucks entered Gaza each day.
Fletcher added that given the chaotic situation on the ground, the UN expects the aid could be looted or stolen. He urged Israel to open multiple crossings in northern and southern Gaza to permit a regular flow of aid.
Still, the announcement raised hope among Palestinians that more desperately needed food, medicine and other supplies would enter.
Israel over the weekend launched a new wave of air and ground operations across Gaza, and the army ordered the evacuation of its second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the 19-month war that left much of the area in ruins.
Israel says its offensive is a bid to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout.
Netanyahu said Monday that Israel plans on “taking control of all of Gaza,” as well as establishing a new system to distribute aid that circumvents Hamas. He has said Israel also will encourage what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries.
Netanyahu warns of a ‘red line’ on Gaza
The Trump administration has voiced full support for Israel's actions and blames Hamas for the toll on Palestinians, though in recent days it has expressed growing concern over the hunger crisis.
President Donald Trump, who skipped Israel on his trip to the region last week, voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said on a visit to Türkiye that he was “troubled” by it.
In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said Israel's “greatest friends in the world” had told him, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.” Netanyahu mentioned “senators” without giving their nationality.
Netanyahu said the situation was approaching a “red line” and a “dangerous point,” but it was not clear if he was referring to the crisis in Gaza or the potential loss of support from allies.
The video statement appeared aimed at pacifying anger from Netanyahu's nationalist base at the decision to resume aid. Two far-right governing partners have pressed Netanyahu not to allow aid into Gaza.
At least one of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, appeared to be on board with the latest plan.
“No more raids and going in and out, but conquering, cleansing and remaining until Hamas is destroyed,” he said. “We are destroying what is still left of the Strip, simply because everything there is one big city of terror.”
Netanyahu says ‘minimal’ aid to be let in
The aid that would be let in would be “minimal,” Netanyahu said, without specifying precisely when it would resume, and would act as a bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza, in which a US-backed organization will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.
UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the plan, saying it won't reach enough people and would weaponize aid in contravention of humanitarian principles. They have refused to take part in it.
Meanwhile, Israeli special forces disguised as displaced Palestinians launched a rare ground raid into Khan Younis early Monday, according to local residents.
The forces killed Ahmed Sarhan, a leader in the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in a shootout, the group said. Palestinian witnesses said his wife and daughter were detained.
The forces drove in on a civilian vehicle and carried out the raid under cover from heavy airstrikes. At least five other people were killed, in addition to Sarhan, according to Nasser Hospital.
Also on Monday, an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed five people, including a woman and a girl, and wounded 18, mostly children, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either incident.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The gunmen are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The campaign has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population.
