“The Zikim crossing was opened today for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip,” the Palestinian Authority’s civil affairs agency COGAT said with an X, following instructions from the Israeli government.
Humanitarian organizations working in the Strip told EFE news agency that so far only the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeast and the Kisfim crossing in the center are open.
A COGAT spokesperson told AFP news agency that the crossing would remain open “forever”, similar to the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, through which most aid supplies have passed since the start of the war after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
COGAT also warned that humanitarian aid entering the country via Zikim, the main access point to northern Gaza, will be subject to normal security controls before entering the Palestinian territory.
OCHA: “Opening a direct crossing to the north is essential”
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced in October that it was unable to receive shipments in northern Gaza since the border was closed on September 12.
Aid workers say Israeli security checks and entry restrictions on large amounts of supplies have made it difficult to send aid to Gaza.
Once in Gaza, getting aid to its final destination is complicated by the destruction of much of the territory’s infrastructure and the risk of looting.
“Opening direct borders to the north is critical to ensure adequate aid reaches people as quickly as possible,” the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) said in a recent situation report.
In August, United Nations agencies confirmed that northern Gaza was facing famine, but COGAT denied this.
The war and border closure continued until October 10, after which a ceasefire took effect and some borders were reopened for the entry of humanitarian goods and supplies.
Rapha is still closed
But the opening of the Rafah crossing was among the highlights of a peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump, who supports a cessation of hostilities. The Rafah crossing is an area of southern Gaza under Israeli control that remains closed and until it was closed was the Gaza Strip’s only window to the world for the passage of people and cargo not controlled by Israel.
Additionally, dozens of Hamas militiamen continue to set up trenches in Rafah (according to the Israeli military, there are hundreds of them), and there have been incidents with Israeli forces since the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously claimed that the opening of the Rafah border “will be considered depending on how[Palestinian Islamist organization]Hamas fulfills its role in returning the abductees and implementing the agreed framework.”
ANP: Aid is insufficient to alleviate ‘hunger’
Beyond the aforementioned crossing closures, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) yesterday denounced that the number of aid-laden trucks entering the Gaza Strip is 41% of the number agreed with Israel in the ceasefire, and is “well below” the minimum number needed to address humanitarian needs in the Palestinian enclave.
According to the Palestinian Authority, a total of 9,424 aid trucks entered Gaza from the beginning of October to the first week of November, with approximately 348 trucks being transported per day.
According to the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas brokered by US President Donald Trump and ratified by both sides, between 500 and 600 aid trucks need to enter Gaza each day.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program reported three weeks ago, 12 days after the agreement entered into force, that it was receiving only 750 tons of aid per day out of the 2,000 tons needed at the time, particularly in the north, where 500,000 people were officially declared “starving” by the United Nations in August last year, a situation Israel denies.
rml (afp, efe)
About The Author
