Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a limited aid flow into Gaza following a massive backlash from the international community on Sunday evening.
In a statement confirming the decision, the PMO said it was being done “at the recommendation of the IDF and due to the operational need to enable the expansion of intense fighting to defeat Hamas.”
He said Israel “will allow the entry of a quantity of food for the population to prevent the development of a hunger crisis in the occupied Gaza Strip,” as such a crisis would endanger the continued operation to defeat Hamas.”
“Israel will act to deny Hamas the ability to seize control of the distribution of humanitarian aid to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas terrorists,” he added.
The move was announced after Israel faced massive international pressure, with leaders from France, Spain, and several African nations calling for an end to the siege and aid blockade currently in place in Gaza.
Additionally, the UN has also expressed serious concerns over the looming famine crisis in Gaza, as Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza has continued for the past three months.
Israel has been using Hamas as a shield to deprive 2.2 million people of life-saving and supporting resources in Gaza.
On Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on the international community to put pressure to stop Israel’s “massacre in Gaza” and said Madrid is planning to introduce a UN resolution requesting a world court ruling on aid access to the Palestinian territory.
Israel has thus far refused to do so, saying Hamas has been stealing the aid to benefit its members, and that it won’t resume deliveries until a new mechanism has been put in place to circumvent Hamas.
However, with this announcement, the aid resumption will be facilitated through several international organisations, including the UN World Food Programme and the World Central Kitchen, until the new US- and Israel-backed mechanism begins operating later this month.
Netanyahu told his war cabinet that it was necessary to resume the aid deliveries due to growing pressure from the United States.
He did not hold a formal vote on the issue, as would generally be expected, and instead informed the cabinet that this was what had been decided.
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