Israel has begun allowing limited shipments of food and medicine into the Gaza Strip after more than two and a half months of a total import ban on the enclave’s two million Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision to ease the blockade came following pressure from unnamed allies, aiming to shore up support for Israel’s latest major offensive against Hamas, reports AP.
United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups, which had run out of aid supplies weeks ago, welcomed the move. However, they stressed that the aid delivered so far falls far short of what's needed.
According to the UN, only five aid trucks have entered Gaza since Monday, in contrast to the roughly 600 trucks per day that were passing through during a previous ceasefire.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached its worst point in 19 months of war. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes, and the territory has been facing critical shortages of food and medical supplies.
Experts have warned that continued restrictions, along with ongoing military operations, could push Gaza into famine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading authority on global hunger crises, estimates that nearly half a million Palestinians are at risk of starvation, while another one million are struggling to get enough food.
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Israel imposed the complete ban on March 2, saying it was intended to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a ceasefire deal more favourable to Israel than the agreement signed in January.
However, two weeks later, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes, breaking the truce and killing hundreds.
Israel claims that Hamas diverts humanitarian aid for military use, though it has not provided evidence to support this accusation. The UN says there are mechanisms in place that prevent any significant diversion of aid.
Israel is also trying to pressure Hamas to release more of the hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and abducted 251.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says most of the victims are women and children, though it does not specify how many were civilians or fighters.