GAZA: The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighbourhoods of northern Gaza, as it pressed a renewed offensive that has drawn international condemnation. The warning came hours after the United Nations said it had collected and begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza, the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on the territory on March 2. Under global pressure for an end to the blockade and the violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to a "temporary ceasefire" in Gaza, but reaffirmed the military aimed to bring the entire territory under its control.
In an Arabic-language statement on Thursday, the military said it was "operating with intense force" in 14 areas in the northern Gaza Strip, accusing "terrorist organisations" of operating there. The army issued a similar warning for northern Gaza on Wednesday evening in what the army said was a response to rocket fire. It later announced three more launches from northern Gaza, but said the projectiles had fallen inside the Palestinian territory.
After Israel announced it would allow in limited aid, the United Nations "collected around 90 truckloads of goods from the Kerem Shalom crossing and dispatched them into Gaza", said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres. In Gaza, the government media office reported the arrival of 87 aid trucks, which it said were allocated to international and local organisations to meet "urgent humanitarian needs". Netanyahu said it was necessary to "avoid a humanitarian crisis in order to preserve our freedom of operational action" in Gaza. Umm Talal al Masri, 53, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, described the situation as "unbearable". "No one is distributing anything to us. Everyone is waiting for aid, but we haven't received anything," she said. "We barely manage to prepare one meal a day."
Humanitarian groups have said that the amount of aid entering Gaza falls far short of what is required to ease the crisis. A US-backed private group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, that will use contractors, said that it will start moving aid into the territory in "coming days". The United Nations and traditional agencies have said they will not cooperate with the foundation which some have accused of working with Israel. The GHF has said it will distribute some 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation.
Palestinians have been scrambling for basic supplies, with Israel's blockade leading to critical food and medicine shortages. Israel has meanwhile kept up its bombardment, as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes had killed at least 52 people, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days. Agency official Mohammed Al Mughayyir said that there had been "52 martyrs and dozens injured as a result of air strikes carried out by the occupation in various areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn today".
Israel has faced mounting pressure, including from traditional allies, to halt its expanded offensive and allow aid into Gaza. European Union foreign ministers agreed on Tuesday to review the bloc's cooperation accord with Israel. Israel's foreign ministry has said the EU action "reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing". Sweden said it would press the 27-nation bloc to impose sanctions on Israeli ministers, while Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador.
Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, according to a tally based on official figures. Palestinians also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead. Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,509 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall death toll to 53,655, mostly civilians. — AFP
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