First aid trucks enter Gaza since early March – as UN says it is a ‘drop in the ocean’ | World News

The first trucks carrying humanitarian aid have been allowed into Gaza following a nearly three month blockade of food, medicine and other supplies, Israel and the UN have said.

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel cleared nine trucks of aid on Monday to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing but added that it was a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”.

Mr Fletcher said that “significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning”.

Israel’s military said on Monday that five UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food for babies, were allowed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the territory.

A UN official earlier told the Associated Press news agency that 20 aid trucks carrying mostly food would go into the territory.

Some 600 aid trucks had entered Gaza each day during a ceasefire in the conflict earlier this year.

The leaders of the UK, France and Canada released a joint statement on Monday saying that Israel’s decision to allow a “basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate”.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to agree to allow a limited amount of aid into the besieged enclave in response to global concern at reports of famine.

In a video statement, posted to social media on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” – which he did not specify – had threatened to withdraw support for his country.

He added that there had been pressure from allies who said they couldn’t support Israel’s renewed military offensive if there were “images of hunger” coming from the Palestinian territory.

Mr Netanyahu said that a “starvation crisis” would jeopardise Israel’s new offensive against Hamas in Gaza, and a “basic” amount of food would be allowed in.

Two far-right governing partners had pressed Mr Netanyahu not to allow aid into Gaza.

In a news conference on Monday, foreign ministry director general Eden Bar Tal accused Hamas of “hijacking” food and monetising aid “in order to feed its engine of war”.

He said a new distribution mechanism would become operational within days, organised by the US-backed group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to “direct aid to the population in Gaza, but not to Hamas”.

Mr Tal said Israel would “temporarily bridge the current needs” until GHF’s operation begins, beginning on Monday, with trucks loaded with baby food being allowed into Gaza.

“The items to be supplied immediately include flour to the main bakeries operated by international organisations in the Gaza Strip, supplies of items to central kitchens operated by international organisations, baby food and medical supplies.”

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Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right figure in Mr Netanyahu’s government, said: “In a few days, with God’s help, an American civilian company will begin operating in the (Gaza) Strip to distribute the minimal food aid directly to civilians – ensuring not a single grain reaches Hamas or endangers our soldiers.”

Mr Netanyahu also said on Monday that Israel plans on “taking control of all of Gaza”, as well as establishing an aid distribution system that bypasses Hamas.

Meanwhile, international aid groups say they will not participate in the new distribution mechanism, saying it is not practical and won’t reach the most vulnerable Palestinians.

It comes as Israel has ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it has been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, although it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It reported 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday

Mr Smotrich admitted on Monday that the country’s military is “destroying what is still left” of Gaza.

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In its joint statement, the leaders of the UK, Canada and France said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable.

“Yesterday’s announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. We call on the Israeli government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza… The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.

“We condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.”