Israel opens Kerem Shalom border crossing for Gaza aid
- Despite dire humanitarian conditions in the area, all previous shipments could only be sent via the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt
- The decision comes as key ally the US urges more restraint in Israel’s all-out offensive against Hamas
Israel approved Friday the “temporary” delivery of aid into Gaza via its Kerem Shalom border crossing, the prime minister’s office said, opening a new route for supplies as key backer the US urged more restraint in its all-out offensive against Hamas.
The Gaza Strip is facing dire humanitarian conditions after more than two months of war, but prior to Friday’s decision, all aid entering the territory had to pass through the Rafah crossing on its border with Egypt.
Kerem Shalom, which sits on Gaza’s border with Israel, recently began inspecting shipments of aid bound for the territory, but the trucks still had to travel to Rafah afterwards to enter.
Israel’s cabinet “approved today a temporary measure of unloading the trucks on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing” in order to increase the amount of aid getting into the territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“The cabinet’s decision determines that only humanitarian aid arriving from Egypt will be transferred into the Gaza Strip this way,” it added.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who was wrapping up a visit to Israel on Friday, called the decision a “significant step”.