Israel to allow food into Gaza after two-month blockade
Israel announced Sunday it will allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza after a nearly three-month blockade, days after global experts on food security warned of famine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "starvation crisis" would jeopardize Israel's new military offensive in Gaza, and his Cabinet approved a decision to allow a "basic" amount of food into the territory of over 2 million people.
It was not immediately clear when aid would enter Gaza, or how. The Israeli military body in charge of overseeing aid did not comment. Israel has been trying to impose a new aid system, despite objections by aid workers. Netanyahu said Israel would work to ensure that aid does not reach fighters.
Trucks line up at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza. File/AP
Israel imposed the blockade starting March 2, cutting off all food, medicine and other supplies to Gaza, while pressing Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms. Israel resumed the war days later, shattering a two-month truce.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it launched "extensive" new ground operations in its new offensive - the largest since the ceasefire. Airstrikes killed at least 103 people, including dozens of children, hospitals and medics said. The bombardment also forced northern Gaza's main hospital to close as it reported direct strikes.
Associated Press
A boy scrapes leftovers from an empty pot after all the meals were distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Five killed, dozens wounded in Israeli strike on northern Gaza
At least five people have been killed and 30 others wounded after an Israeli air raid targeted a residential home in Jabalia al-Balad, in northern Gaza, according to medical staff at the Baptist Hospital. Doctors say the casualties arrived following the bombing, which struck a densely populated area already reeling from repeated attacks.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Thousands march in Rome against Israel's war on Gaza
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Rome on Saturday to protest the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, in a massive demonstration led by opposition groups accusing Italy's government of being complicit in Israel's assault. 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' read a banner at the front of the march, as a sea of Palestinian flags, rainbow peace banners, and 'Free Palestine' signs stretched down the capital's avenues. Organisers estimated the turnout at around 300,000. The peaceful protest moved from Piazza Vittorio to San Giovanni, where speakers condemned the violence in Gaza and criticised the silence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right government. Protestors hold a banner reading "Free Palestine" as they join a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome on June 7, 2025 (AFP) A man holds a placard reading "Free Palestine" as he joins a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome on June 7, 2025 (AFP) Protesters holds puppets on the shape of human bodies covered with fake blood as they join a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome (AFP)
Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Israel retrieves body of Thai hostage from Gaza
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday, as further Israeli airstrikes killed 15 people according to local medics. Nattapong Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified. Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza. Israel's military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week. There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, who have previously denied killing their captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive. The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase. Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered. At least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 injured from Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza City district of Sabra in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, local health authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. It later warned people to evacuate the nearby district of Jabalia, saying it was going to strike there after rockets were launched by militants in the vicinity. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday that Gaza's hospitals had sufficient fuel for only three more days and that Israel was denying access for international relief agencies to areas where fuel storages designated for hospitals are located. There was no immediate response from the Israeli military or COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that coordinates humanitarian matters with the Palestinians
