Gallant: Israel Plans Aid Surge for Gaza

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced plans to significantly increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza amid intense global pressure for action. The strategy includes ramping up aid deliveries to the pre-war level of 500 trucks daily. Gallant emphasized the intention to facilitate aid passage by optimizing security checks, which have been a bottleneck during the six months of conflict.

Despite commitments to open the Erez crossing to aid traffic after a critical call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alternative routes are being considered due to concerns about potential protests by far-right groups. Instead, a different northern route is being developed to ease the burden on the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Accusations have been made against Israel for leveraging starvation as a warfare tactic in Gaza, where severe food scarcity affects half of the population. Israel, however, refutes these allegations, attributing distribution issues to the United Nations and aid organizations.

Gallant disclosed that the Port of Ashdod, located north of Gaza, would be activated soon to facilitate aid flow. Additionally, a new crossing to the north of Gaza is under preparation, primarily to serve the areas most affected by hunger.

In coordination with Jordan, two routes are set to be established where up to 150 trucks will undergo security checks in Jordan before entering Israel and then Gaza. Gallant highlighted a recent increase in aid deliveries, with a record 467 trucks and 303 air-dropped packages reaching Gaza in a single day, compared to lower averages in previous months.

This humanitarian crisis follows the outbreak of war triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, which Israel claims killed 1,170 people. In retaliation, Israel’s military actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 33,482 people in Gaza, predominantly women and children.