CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Israel permitted 100 aid trucks carrying essential supplies such as flour, baby food, and medical equipment to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military.
However, UN officials and local aid agencies report that these supplies have yet to reach the most vulnerable populations, with distribution issues hampering aid delivery.
Despite the entry of aid during Monday and Tuesday, the limited supplies have not arrived at key sites like soup kitchens, bakeries, markets, and hospitals. Antoine Renard, country director of the World Food Program, emphasized that “none of this aid—despite being a very limited number of trucks—has reached the Gaza population.”
Meanwhile, thousands of tonnes of food and vital supplies remain stranded near crossing points, waiting for safe distribution, leaving approximately 25% of Gaza’s population at risk of famine.
Humanitarian concerns are escalating as Gaza’s health authorities report that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the first five days of Israel’s latest military operation. The total Palestinian death toll since October 2023 has now reached 53,655.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages. But otherwise he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.
Netanyahu said on Wednesday that all areas of the Gaza Strip will be under Israeli security control and Hamas will be defeated by the end of the ongoing “Operation Gideon’s Chariots.”
Netanyahu described the operation, which he said began on Saturday, as the “final phase” of Israel’s military campaign.
