Israel has said that it will allow limited supplies of food into Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel would open the way for some food to enter the Gaza Strip following a “recommendation” from the army.
It disclosed that Israel will allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip.
The announcement came shortly after the Israeli military launched “extensive ground operations” that are reported to have killed more than 150 people in the last 24 hours.
The announcement also comes amid mounting international pressure on Israel to lift a two-month-long siege that threatens widespread famine in the besieged territory.
In a video address, Netanyahu said without mentioning names that Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had said that there is “one thing we cannot stand.”
“We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.
“Therefore, to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
Without specifying precisely when supplies would resume, he stated that the aid that would be let into Gaza would be “minimal.”
A spokesperson for the United Nations aid Chief, Tom Fletcher, confirmed the agency had been approached by Israel to “resume limited aid delivery”, adding that discussions are ongoing about the logistics, “given the conditions on the ground.”
Despite the blockade and intensified military offensive, sources on both sides told a news agency that there has been no progress in a new round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Qatar.
Netanyahu said that the talks included discussions on a truce and a deal on the captives, as well as a proposal to end the war, in return for the exile of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the enclave – terms Hamas has previously rejected.
The Israeli military suggested in a later statement that it could still scale down operations to help reach a deal in Doha, Qatar.
However, Netanyahu stressed in his video address that the aim of the intensified offensive is for Israel’s forces to “take control of all” of Gaza.
“The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip. We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
Over the past week, Israel’s military said it had conducted a preliminary wave of strikes on more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza. It said it killed dozens of Hamas fighters.
Far-Right Allies Opposed To Allowing Food Into Gaza
However, Netanyahu’s far-right allies remain opposed to allowing any supplies into Gaza, insisting that military might and hunger will secure victory over Hamas.
National Security Ministe,r Itamar Ben-Gvir described the decision to allow limited food into the enclave as a “grave mistake.”
He stressed that any humanitarian aid that enters the Gaza strip will “fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels.”
Earlier this year, Ben-Gvir quit the government in protest at Israel reaching a hostage release and ceasefire deal but returned when Israel resumed its military assault on the territory.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, from Ben-Gvir’s party, also denounced the plan as a “tragedy”, saying that it directly harms the “war effort to achieve victory” in Gaza.
Israel has been accused of weaponising hunger and using the blockade to try to ethnically cleanse the enclave.
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