Jerusalem:
The amount of humanitarian aid going to the Gaza Strip will be increased in the coming days, the Israeli military said on Sunday, citing new corridors using an Israeli seaport and border crossings into the Palestinian enclave.
After cutting off access to Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, Israel has since allowed aid convoys under mounting international pressure to increase the amount of supplies to feed Gaza's 2.3 million residents.
A spiraling humanitarian crisis has led to calls from Israel's Western and Arab partners to do more to ease the access of aid to the enclave, where most are homeless, many face famine, and where civilian infrastructure has been destroyed and diseases are widespread.
The United States said earlier this month that it welcomed Israel's latest efforts to increase humanitarian aid, but that success would be measured by results in improving the situation on the ground.
“In recent weeks, the amount of humanitarian aid going to Gaza has increased significantly. In the coming days, the amount of aid going to Gaza will increase even further,” spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
“Food, water, medical supplies, shelter materials and other aid – more of it is going to Gaza than ever before,” Hagari said.
In addition, US-based charity World Central Kitchen said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, a month after seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hagari said the increase in aid is due to the use of Israel's port of Ashdod, as well as a new border crossing into northern Gaza and increased aid from Jordan entering through the Kerem Shalom border crossing at the southern tip of Gaza.
Israel is also working with US Central Command to build a “temporary maritime pier,” which will allow ship-to-land distribution, Hagari said.
“Getting aid to the people of Gaza is a top priority because our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza,” he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)