Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid for Gaza continued to wait in Egypt’s North Sinai city of Arish on Monday for possible entry into the enclave through Rafah border crossing, following Israel’s announcement to allow some food into the strip.
Israel will ease its blockade and let limited amounts of food into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, after the military announced it had begun “extensive ground operations” in the northern and southern parts of the enclave.
Facing mounting pressure over an aid blockade it imposed in March and the risk of famine, Israel has stepped up its campaign in Gaza, where Palestinian health officials said hundreds have been killed in attacks in the past week.
Israel’s military said it had conducted a preliminary wave of strikes on more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza over the past week to support “Gideon’s Chariots”, its new ground operation aimed at achieving “operational control” in parts of the enclave. It said it killed dozens of Hamas fighters.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in the week to Sunday alone, at least 464 Palestinians were killed.
The Israeli campaign has devastated Gaza, pushing nearly all of its two million residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, many of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.HumanitarianHumanitarian
