Israel announced on Friday that it would allow the first aid shipment to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, in a move welcomed by the White House.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that Israel had agreed to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The office added in a statement that the opening will help Israel maintain its commitments to allow the entry of 200 aid trucks daily, which was agreed upon in the hostage deal that was reached and implemented last month.
The crossing was closed after the Hamas attack on October 7, and aid is delivered only through the Rafah crossing in Gaza with Egypt, which Israel said only facilitates the entry of 100 trucks per day.
Commenting on the Israeli move, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement after a visit to Israel that the United States welcomes Israel’s decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza to humanitarian aid.
“We welcome this important step,” Sullivan continued, adding that he was informed of the decision before he left Israel.
For its part, the World Health Organization welcomed the decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing, but said that work is still needed to ensure that essential medical supplies reach hospitals that desperately need them across the Strip.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link, Richard Pepperkorn, the WHO representative in Gaza, described the decision to open the crossing as “good news” but said there were hard-to-reach hospitals in the northern Strip that were still in need of basic medical supplies.
“How can we make sure that these (aid) trucks can go everywhere in Gaza, not only to the south but also to the north,” Pepperkorn said.
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2023-12-15 16:01:24
