Israel plans to directly transport humanitarian aid into northern Gaza: Report

ISTANBUL

Israel plans to transport humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media on Monday.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the aid deliveries will come directly from Israel into northern Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7.

“The move will be initiated under US pressure due to the difficult conditions in northern Gaza amid an acute shortage of food, water, and medicine,” KAN said.

According to Palestinian local sources, around 10 aid trucks were allowed into Gaza City in the past month.

KAN said the aid trucks will undergo security inspections at either the Kerem Shalom or Nitzana border crossings before going into northern Gaza through Israel.

“The aid supplies will then be transported by local agencies to displacement camps, especially in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City,” the broadcaster added.

According to the Israeli media outlet, COGAT, an Israeli Defense Ministry liaison agency involved in coordinating aid deliveries, contacted local officials who agreed to distribute the aid in northern Gaza instead of Hamas.

Only the UN and international organizations are responsible for distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

There are around 700,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, who struggle with starvation amid a crippling Israeli blockade.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas, killing more than 29,782 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio