The first aid trucks arrived in Gaza after Israel announced the opening of new “humanitarian corridors” today, as tonnes of food were airdropped across the enclave.
But deadly strikes continued even in areas where Israel had declared a pause in military operations.
Palestinian sources in Gaza reported that about 100 trucks cleared the southern border on Sunday evening carrying food aid, after Israel announced a policy reversal late on Saturday to allow more supplies to enter, following a wave of condemnation over deaths attributed to starvation.
Amjad al-Shawa of the Palestinian NGO Network, based in the central city of Deir al-Balah, where he hoped to have “safe access to trucks to start distribution of supplies by tomorrow (Monday).”
But witnesses said some supplies were looted by desperate crowds, as the World Food Programme appealed for Israel to grant faster access.
“We need not just words, but we need action there. We need to have really fast clearances and approvals,” said Ross Smith, WFP director of emergencies.
“Everybody can see (the trucks) driving in, and so they know that food is about to be loaded on them, and they start to wait and crowd,” said Smith. “If they are sitting there for 10 hours, loading and waiting, then at that point you have 10,000 people crowding outside.”
Aid is also expected to arrive at warehouses in Gaza City and al-Mawasi, a coastal area where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering, with UN agencies and humanitarian groups preparing to rapidly disperse supplies to starving civilians.
Israel announced it would halt military activity in all three locations between the hours of 10am and 8pm until further notice.
But air strikes were reported in Gaza City, including an attack in the Rimal neighbourhood that local medics said killed a mother and her four children. Israel did not immediately comment.
At least 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes yesterday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which said a further six had died of starvation – bringing the total to 133, most of them children.
Palestinians in Gaza say they are unable to find food, and a coalition of more than 100 aid groups warned this week civilians are “wasting away.”
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates announced that they had parachuted 25 tonnes of aid into Gaza in their first airdrops for months. A Jordanian spokesperson said this method was not a substitute for deliveries by land. Ten injuries were reported as a result of falling crates.
Israel also carried out airdrops of aid, and announced that it had restored power to a desalination plant in southern Gaza to address water shortages, while the UAE is to begin work on a new pipeline bringing water from Egypt to Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue the war until Hamas is eliminated, and said to achieve this goal Israel would have to “allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies.”
Netanyahu accused the UN of lying about Israeli preventing aid entering Gaza and said there should be “no more excuses”.
Israel announced the shutdown of aid entering the enclave on 2 March as a means of pressuring Hamas, and slightly eased the blockade in May, but was allowing about 10 per cent of the 600 aid trucks a day that is required, according to the UN.
Netanyahu announced the new policies on Saturday after a coalition of 30 countries, including the UK, said the current conditions were “unacceptable” and in violation of international law.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said yesterday that he welcomed the reversal. “In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window,” he said.
The World Health Organisation said one in five children were acutely malnourished in some areas and said aid must be sustained in order to treat them.
“This flow must remain consistent and unhindered to support recovery and prevent further deterioration,” it said.
Right-wing Israel groups reacted with anger to the government’s decision.
“We are devastated — and furious,” said a spokesperson for the Mothers of IDF Soldiers, which has organised protests against aid. “We demand an immediate halt to all aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza.”
