Israel’s Netanyahu acknowledges pressure from allies in decision to resume Gaza aid
TEL AVIV Israel AP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that his decision to resume aid to Gaza after a weekslong blockade came after pressure from allies who declared they would not be able to grant Israel the promotion it demands to win the war so long as there were images of hunger coming out of the Palestinian territory Israel has faced condemnation from the U N aid groups and several European allies for its blockade of goods into the war-ravaged territory including food fuel and medicine On Sunday it disclosed it would allow a basic amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a hunger predicament from growing Food experts have already warned that the blockade risked sparking famine in Gaza a territory of roughly million people Under the Trump administration the United States Israel s top ally has mostly avoided criticizing Israel s efforts in its war against Hamas and blames the militant group for the humanitarian situation But it has increasingly highlighted the dilemma in Gaza President Donald Trump on his latest trip to the Middle East a visit where he did not stop in Israel voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza as did his Secretary of State Marco Rubio who announced on a visit to Turkey that he was troubled by it The decision to let in aid comes as Israel actions up its offensive in the Gaza Strip in what it says is a bid to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal on Israel s terms Under the newly launched air and ground offensive Israel plans to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and secure aid distribution inside the territory Netanyahu noted Monday that the plan would include taking control of all of Gaza and a military spokesperson ordered the evacuation of Gaza s second-largest city Khan Younis Netanyahu warns of a red line on Gaza In a video report posted to social media Netanyahu mentioned that Israel s allies had voiced concern about images of hunger Israel s greatest friends in the world he stated including senators but without mentioning specific nationalities had commented 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 patronage you Netanyahu noted the situation was approaching a red line and a dangerous point but it was not clear if he was referring to the situation in Gaza or the likely loss of backing from allies Therefore to achieve achievement we need to somehow solve the challenge Netanyahu noted The video announcement appeared aimed at pacifying anger from Netanyahu s nationalist base at the decision to resume aid Netanyahu has been under pressure from two far-right governing partners not to send aid back into Gaza At least one of them explained Monday he was begrudgingly on board with the decision The aid that would be let in would be minimal Netanyahu commented without specifying precisely when it would resume and would act as bridge toward the beginning of a new approach to aid delivery in Gaza which will see a U S -backed organization distribute aid in organized hubs in Gaza that will be secured by the Israeli military Trucks wait along frontier to enter Gaza Israel says the plan is meant to prevent Hamas from accessing aid which Israel says it uses to bolster its rule in Gaza Aid groups say the mechanism is not practical that it will not reach the majority of vulnerable Palestinians and say they won t participate because it doesn t align with their humanitarian principles A U N official announced a shipment of aid trucks carrying mostly food is expected to enter on Monday The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity Israeli government have not commented on when the aid would begin entering An Associated Press photographer saw at least three trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Israeli side of a moving across with Gaza Palestinians say an Israeli undercover raid has killed a militant As the aid waited to enter the territory again fighting continued to rage there including an early morning raid in the southern city of Khan Younis by what Palestinian residents disclosed was an undercover Israeli force disguised as displaced Palestinians The force killed Ahmed Sarhan a leader of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in a shootout the group declared and detained his wife and child according to Palestinian spectators The forces drove in on a civilian carriage and carried out the raid under heavy aircover killing at least six people including Sarhan according to Nasser Hospital They carried what appeared to be luggage and blankets on top of their white bicycle The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the apparent raid Magdy communicated from Cairo and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah Gaza Strip Follow AP s war coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source
