“Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through the port of Ashdod and the Erez border crossing,” the government said in a statement.
“This increased aid will avert a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of fighting and the achievement of war objectives,” the Israeli government added.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the move by Israel, but said Washington wanted to see results to show that the people of the Gaza Strip were actually receiving more aid.
“These are positive developments, but the real test is the results, which we want to see in the coming days and weeks,” Blinken said.
Blinken said the U.S. will monitor whether aid begins to “effectively reach the people in need throughout the Gaza Strip” and whether humanitarian workers can deliver it safely.
The US secretary of state said Washington would check how many aid trucks are entering the Gaza Strip, whether they can move and whether indicators that the population is on the brink of starvation are improving.
Blinken stressed the importance of conducting an independent, thorough and open investigation into the killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers and bringing those responsible to justice. “This is also a crucial test,” he added.
Hours before Israel announced the “temporary” aid deliveries, US President Joe Biden had told Netanyahu that further US support for Israel depended on steps being taken to protect civilians and aid workers in the Gaza Strip.
The Erez border crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip will be reopened for the first time since the October 7 attacks by the militant group Hamas, which triggered Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to an Israeli statement, in addition to aid deliveries through the Erez crossing and Ashdod port, located about 40 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities will also allow increased Jordanian aid deliveries through the Keremshalom border crossing in southern Israel.
2024-04-05 13:41:37
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