Israel to ease Gaza blockade with limited food shipments
Israel is denying food and aid to civilians as a weapon of war. PHOTO: REUTERS
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Israel will allow a limited quantity of food into Gaza for the first time in 10 weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Monday, following mounting international pressure and growing fears of famine among the 2.1 million people trapped in the besieged enclave.
The announcement came as Israel launched a new military assault, dubbed Operation Gideon's Chariot, involving what the Israel Defense Forces described as 'extensive ground operations' across the Gaza Strip.
Israel has maintained a total blockade on Gaza for the past 10 weeks, halting all deliveries of food, fuel and medicine. Humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned of a looming famine, with distressing images emerging of severely malnourished children.
While Israel has agreed to allow some food to enter, it said it would act to prevent Hamas from controlling the distribution of humanitarian aid. Netanyahu's office said allowing a starvation crisis to develop would jeopardise its military objectives.
Israeli strikes on Sunday targeted several areas across Gaza, including Khan Younis in the south, and Beit Lahia and Jabalia in the north. The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 67 people were killed and 361 injured in the past 24 hours.
Gaza's civil defence service said 22 people were killed in an overnight strike on the al-Mawasi displacement camp, a site previously marked as a "safe zone". Over 100 others were reported injured.
Israel air strikes cripple Gaza hospitals
Hospitals continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing assault. According to health officials, three public hospitals in North Gaza are now out of service.
Medical staff at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia reported IDF tanks firing at the facility late on Sunday night. At the time, 55 people were inside, including four doctors, eight nurses, and dozens of patients unable to move.
The staff told the BBC there had been no prior warning or evacuation order. They denied there were any military targets in or near the hospital.
Roughly an hour after the shelling began, IDF troops reportedly pulled back from the area.
Israel said its forces were targeting Hamas infrastructure in the vicinity of the hospital and denied intentionally attacking medical centres.
Elsewhere in the north, the director of the al-Awda Hospital, Mohammed Salha, said a bombing near his facility caused significant damage. Al-Awda depends on the Indonesian Hospital for oxygen supplies and critical care.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Khan Younis, two major hospitals – the Nasser Medical Complex and the European Hospital – were hit in earlier strikes.
Netanyahu's office said Israeli negotiators were exhausting 'every possibility' to secure a deal. Israel insists any agreement must include the release of hostages, the exile of Hamas leaders, and full disarmament in Gaza.
Israel's war on Gaza
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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