Israel has said it will allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza to avoid a “hunger crisis”
Israel has said it will allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza after a block of nearly three months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was to “allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop”.
A blockade was imposed by Israel on March 2, with around 2 million people still in the territory. When and how aid will enter Gaza is currently unclear, but Netanyahu said Israel would work to ensure that Hamas will not control aid distribution and ensure the aid does not reach Hamas militants.
It comes after Israel launched “extensive” new ground operations in the Gaza Strip while airstrikes in a new offensive killed at least 103 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said, and forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close. Airstrikes killed more than 48 people in and around the Palestinian territory’s southern city of Khan Younis, some hitting houses and tents sheltering displaced people, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of the bodies.
Israel began the offensive – the largest since it shattered a ceasefire in March – with the aim of seizing territory and displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. It is pressuring Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire that would free hostages from Gaza but not necessarily end the war. Hamas says it wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and a path to ending the war as part of any deal.
“Both sides agree to exterminate the Palestinian people,” said Jabaliya resident Abu Mohammad Yassin, who was among those fleeing the new offensive on foot or in donkey carts. “For God’s sake, have mercy on us. We are tired of displacement.”
Israel’s military, which recently called up tens of thousands of reservists, said the ground operations are throughout the Palestinian territory’s north and south. Israel’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said that plans include “dissecting” the strip.
Before the announcement, airstrikes killed more than 48 people — including 18 children and 13 women — in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of bodies.
In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in Jabaliya killed nine members of a family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency services. Another strike on a residence there killed 10, including seven children and a woman, according to the civil defence, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israel’s statement announcing the ground operations said preliminary strikes over the past week killed dozens of militants and struck more than 670 targets. Israel blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the militant group operates from civilian areas.
Shortly afterward, Israel’s military said that it intercepted a projectile from central Gaza and another fell in an open area, with no injuries reported.