Israel expects gradual increase in daily aid trucks entering Gaza amid fears of growing famine

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said Thursday it expects new measures on the entry of humanitarian trucks into the Gaza Strip would gradually increase the flow of aid into the enclave amid international warnings of growing famine risks across the Palestinian territory.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a video message that the military is constructing a new land crossing from Israel into northern Gaza to allow more direct aid to civilians.

The new crossing would allow the entry of at least 50 trucks per day to northern Gaza, said Hagari.

He noted that the new measures would "gradually" surge the average of aid trucks entry into Gaza from 350 to 500.

Israel has imposed suffocating measures on the entry of goods into Gaza since Oct. 7, putting almost all of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents on the verge of famine, especially in northern Gaza.

Countries, including the US, as well as international and UN agencies, have demanded that Israel allow more humanitarian aid for Gazans.

Following pressures by the US, Israel said April 5 it approved the reopening of the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and the temporary use of the Ashdod port in southern Israel to increase humanitarian aid supplies.

The New York Times, however, said Wednesday that "satellite imagery taken on Tuesday showed that the road leading to Erez on the Gaza side was blocked by rubble from a destroyed building," an indication that Israel still has not opened the crossing.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 33,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​