Israel will allow “temporary” aid deliveries via its border with the northern Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Friday, reopening the Erez crossing into the famine-threatened territory for the first time since the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.
“Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint,” said a government statement released hours after a warning from US President Joe Biden.
“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” the statement added.
The announcement comes as international pressure mounts on Israel after it took responsibility for a strike that killed seven aid workers.
In a tense, 30-minute call with Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden “made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza” will be determined based on “specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers”, according to a White House statement.
According to Israel’s statement, in addition to allowing aid through the Erez border crossing and the port of Ashdod, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Gaza, the authorities will also allow “increased Jordanian aid through Kerem Shalom”, a border crossing in southern Israel.
