Investigating - Humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza as Israel-Hamas war rages
Aid enters Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing for first time since October 7, Israel says
Aid trucks on Sunday entered war-torn Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel for the first time since it was closed on October 7 following Hamas' attacks, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement that a total of 201 aid trucks entered Gaza Sunday, including 79 through Kerem Shalom.
In an earlier statement, COGAT said the move to allow trucks into Gaza through Kerem Shalom would increase the volume of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
The announcement follows the Israeli government’s decision last week to allow aid trucks to be inspected at Kerem Shalom for the first time since October 7.
The US government pushed Israel to reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing to allow humanitarian aid trucks to go directly into Gaza on an emergency basis.
A senior Israeli Defense Ministry official said earlier Sunday that a total of 470 aid trucks went through security inspections and were sent to the Rafah crossing in Egypt.
Aid warnings: The amount of aid entering Gaza is less than half of pre-war levels, according to the United Nations.
The number of aid trucks "is well below the daily average of 500 truckloads (including fuel and private sector goods) that entered every working day prior to 7 October," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement Sunday.