Amid pressure, Israel allows ‘limited’ aid into dying Gaza after three months

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that his decision to resume limited aid to the Gaza Strip came after pressure from allies who said they couldn’t support Israel’s renewed offensive if there are “images of hunger” coming out of the Palestinian territory.

The first aid trucks entered Gaza following nearly three months of Israel’s complete blockade, according to Israel and the United Nations. Five trucks carrying aid including baby food entered the territory of over 2 million Palestinians

Israel has meanwhile launched a new wave of air and ground operations across the territory, and the army ordered the evacuation of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, where Israel carried out a massive operation earlier in the war that left much of the area in ruins.

On Sunday, Israel said it would allow a “basic” amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a “hunger crisis” from developing. Experts have already warned of potential famine if the blockade imposed on the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians is not lifted.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a bid to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pull-out.

Netanyahu said Monday that Israel plans on “taking control of all of Gaza,” and establishing a new system to distribute aid that circumvents Hamas. He has also said Israel will encourage what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza’s population to other countries.

Netanyahu warns of a ‘red line’ on Gaza

The Trump administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions and blames Hamas for the toll on Palestinians, though in recent days it has expressed growing concern over the hunger crisis.

President Donald Trump — who skipped Israel on his trip to the region last week — voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said on a visit to Turkiye that he was “troubled” by it. In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him, “We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able

to support you.”