Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that ‘for diplomatic reasons’, the country would allow help in Palestine after blocking more than two months
A on Wednesday (21) sent the equivalent of 90 humanitarian aid trucks for distribution among the population of which has faced more than two and a half months for a total blockade from Israel. Increasingly pressured by the international community to interrupt the war and facilitate the entry of large-scale humanitarian aid, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he was willing to agree with a temporary ceasefire.
Earlier this week, the head of government of Israel stated that, “for diplomatic reasons,” the country would allow help to enter the territory surrounded after a total blockade of more than two and a half months that threatened to cause a hunger scenario. On Wednesday night, “the United Nations collected about 90 trucks loaded in Kerem Shalom’s border passage and sent them to the Gaza Strip,” said Stéphane Dujaric, spokesman for the organization’s secretary general.
Since Monday, Israel had announced the entry into the Palestinian territory of almost 200 trucks loaded with flour, babies and medical supplies. The UN denounced, however, that the supplies had been in the border passage and had not been distributed among the population.
The Gaza Government Communication Office, led by the Hamas Islamist Movement, confirmed the arrival of 87 aid trucks, which were handed over to international and local organizations to meet the “urgent humanitarian needs”. Despite this advance, the UN warned that the volume of help sent is “a drop of water in the ocean” with the needs of the 2.4 million inhabitants of Gaza who, before the war, received daily nearly 500 supply trucks.
Temporary cease?
After nearly two months of truce, the Israeli army resumed the offensive against Gaza in mid -March and assumed the control of wide tracks from the war devastated by the war. The Israeli government announced in early May a plan for the “conquest” of Gaza that requires the internal displacement of the “majority” of its 2.4 million inhabitants. Since Saturday, the army has been performing a large -scale offensive at the enclave, with the supposed purpose of freeing the hostages that remain in captivity and eliminate Hamas.
But “If there is an option for a temporary ceasefire, to release the hostages, we will be ready,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday. At the same time, he reiterated that “the entire range of Gaza” will be under the control of the Israeli army at the end of the ongoing offensive. International criticism of Israel due to the operation increased on Wednesday after an incident in West Bank in which Israeli soldiers opened fire during a visit of diplomats to Jenin.
The Israeli army explained that they were “warning shots” because the entourage “entered an area where it was not allowed to be.” UN, European Union, China, Canada and other countries denounced the incident and demanded explanations. The war began on October 7, 2023 with the unprecedented attack of Hamas against southern Israel. The offensive killed 1,218 people and 251 were kidnapped, according to Israeli data. The Israeli reprisal campaign against Gaza caused at least 53,655 deaths in the narrow Palestinian territory, according to data from the Hamas Government Ministry of Health, which the UN considers reliable.
*With information from AFP
