Israel has announced that it will allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip from neighboring Egypt.
The decision was made in response to a request from US President Joe Biden.
The aid, which includes food, water, and medicine, will be allowed as long as it does not reach Hamas, the ruling party in the territory. The World Health Organization has welcomed the announcement, although no specific timetable has been given for the deliveries.
However, Israel has issued a stern warning that it will not allow aid to pass through the country to Gaza until hostages are released. This condition adds a layer of complexity to an already delicate situation.
The decision comes after Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza following a rampage by Hamas militants across communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7. As supplies dwindled, many families in Gaza were forced to reduce their meals to once a day and resort to drinking unclean water.
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The impact of the siege was brought into sharp focus by the bloody devastation at al-Ahli Hospital. Video footage from the scene showed the hospital grounds littered with torn bodies, many of them young children. Hundreds of wounded were rushed to Gaza City’s main hospital, where doctors, already facing critical supply shortages, were sometimes forced to perform surgery on the floors, often without anesthesia.
A steady stream of ambulances, taxis, cars, and at least one motorcycle also arrived at a hospital in Khan Younis. Men jumped from the vehicles and scrambled to open doors, with hospital staff and bystanders helping carry the injured.
One man rushed in, carrying a limp child in his arms. A girl with her head wrapped with a makeshift bandage was helped by a car. Many injured people had to be carried by multiple men or hoisted onto gurneys.
As soon as one vehicle was unloaded, another arrived to take its place. Biden said Egypt’s president agreed to open the crossing and to let in an initial group of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid. If Hamas confiscates aid, “it will end,” he said. The aid will start moving Friday at the earliest, White House officials said.