The Israeli military yesterday said that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
However, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said there is no one to receive aid on the Palestinian side.
No aid had entered as of midday and the UN agency had been forced to ration fuel, which is imported through Rafa, UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma said.
Photo: AFP
Workers fled during an incursion by an Israeli tank brigade on Tuesday that captured the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which remains closed.
That limited incursion did not appear to be the start of the full-scale invasion of Rafah that Israel has repeatedly promised, but the prolonged closure of the two main crossings could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN says a “full-blown famine” is already under way in the north.
The UN paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on Rafah, in a further widening of divisions between the two close allies.
The paused shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 900kg bombs and 1,700 smaller ones, with the US concerned about how the larger bombs could be used in a dense urban setting, a US official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were discussing a sensitive matter.
No final decision had yet been made on proceeding with the shipment, the official said.
Meanwhile, the US, Egypt and Qatar are ramping up efforts to close the gaps in a possible agreement for at least a temporary ceasefire and the release of some of the scores of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Israel has linked the threatened Rafah operation to the fate of those negotiations.
The Rafah crossing has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit. Kerem Shalom is Gaza’s main cargo terminal.
Israel now controls all of Gaza’s crossings for the first time since it withdrew troops and settlers from the territory nearly two decades ago, although it has maintained a blockade with Egypt’s cooperation for most of that time.
Associated Press journalists heard sporadic explosions and gunfire in the area of the Rafah crossing overnight, including two large blasts early yesterday.
The Israeli military reported six launches from Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday.
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