
Israel – Gaza
Israel will allow aid in the form of food, water and medicine for civilians to be delivered from Egypt to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. This is reportedly at the behest of U.S. President Joe Biden. “As a result of President Biden’s demands, Israel will not prevent humanitarian supplies from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population in the southern Gaza Strip,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote. At the same time, the communication stressed that it is only at the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip that the delivery of emergency aid will be allowed.
“Israel will not allow the delivery of aid from our territories to the Gaza Strip until our hostages are released,” it said. The militant group Hamas has held several hostages since carrying out its attack in Israel on October 7. According to Israel, there are 199 hostages. Among them are several foreigners.
It was not immediately clear exactly when aid from Egypt to the Gaza Strip would begin to be delivered, according to the AP. Joe Biden announced in a speech on Wednesday afternoon that he had asked the Israeli government to allow the delivery of aid. “The people of Gaza need food, water, medicine and shelter. Today I asked the Israeli government, with whom I met this morning, to agree that life-saving relief can be delivered to civilians in Gaza based on an understanding that inspections must be carried out and that relief must go to civilians and not to Hamas,” he said in Tel Aviv.
The civilian population in the Gaza Strip has been told by Israel’s military to move from the north to the southern part of the strip. This creates major humanitarian challenges in the densely populated and already vulnerable area. /ritzau/Reuters/