First aid trucks enter Gaza after almost three-month blockade, UN says
The first aid trucks have entered Gaza after an almost three-month long blockade of the territory by Israel, the United Nations has confirmed.
Five trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the territory of over two million Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, according to the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, Cogat.
The UN called the delivery a "welcome development" but said much more aid is needed to address the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Monday that the decision to resume limited deliveries of aid to Gaza after a blockade that started on 2 March came after pressure from allies who said they couldn't support Israel's renewed military offensive if there are "images of hunger" coming out of the Palestinian territory.
Israel has meanwhile launched a new wave of air and ground operations across the territory and the army ordered the evacuation of Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the war that left much of the area in ruins.
On Sunday, Israel said it would allow a "basic" amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a "hunger crisis" from developing.
Experts have already warned of potential famine if the blockade imposed on the territory's roughly two million Palestinians is not lifted.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a bid to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the 7 October 2023 attack that ignited the war.
Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from the territory.
Netanyahu said that Israel plans on "taking control of all of Gaza," and establishing a new system to distribute aid that circumvents Hamas.
He has also said Israel will encourage what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries.
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.
Trump, who skipped Israel on his trip to the Middle East last week, voiced concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said on a visit to Turkey 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 said the situation was approaching a "red line" 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."
Israel says its new distribution plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid, which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza.
But UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the proposal, saying supplies won't reach enough people and would weaponise aid in contravention of humanitarian principles.
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