Less than a week after President Joe Biden criticized the dire conditions in Gaza and urged for improvements, Israel announced the opening of a new land crossing to facilitate more humanitarian aid into the embattled territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed on Wednesday the establishment of a new border crossing between the southern Israeli community of Zikim and the coastal northern Gaza town of As-Siafa. This new crossing is intended to ease the import of supplies from overseas and Jordan, according to Gallant. He stated, "These advancements will directly impact the aid flow – we intend to inundate Gaza with aid. It will also simplify security checks and enhance our collaboration with international partners."
By providing direct access to northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 Palestinians still reside despite widespread destruction from Israeli bombardment, this new crossing is expected to facilitate the influx of assistance to the area. Most aid has previously been transported through southern crossings, which are over 20 miles away, posing a significant challenge amid the dangers of war.
The U.S., along with other nations and humanitarian organizations, has been urging Israel to allow more food, medicine, and other essentials into Gaza. The U.N. has reported that half the population in Gaza is facing "catastrophic'' hunger. In a call on Thursday, Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that U.S. policy regarding Gaza would be influenced by Israel's response to humanitarian concerns.
France, despite being a vocal critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, currently has no immediate plans to impose sanctions on Israel to compel the allowance of more humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
In a related development, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s navy cautioned that Tehran could block the Strait of Hormuz if provoked, which is a crucial waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption passes.
Israel reported that on Tuesday, 468 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza, marking the highest total since the war began in October. Israel has proposed allowing 150,000 displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza without security checks as part of a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement, but Israeli leaders doubt Hamas is prepared to make a deal yet.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that Israel should be punished for an attack on the Iranian consulate compound in Damascus on April 1. Khamenei emphasized that attacking the consulate was akin to attacking Iranian soil and vowed that Israel would be punished.
In response to the situation, Biden criticized Netanyahu's approach to the war in Gaza, calling it a "mistake" and urging Israel to declare a cease-fire to allow more humanitarian aid into the region. Biden emphasized the need for "total access" to food and medicine flowing into Gaza for a period of six to eight weeks.
Aid deliveries to Gaza from ships in Cyprus are set to resume soon, according to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. The program was temporarily halted following an Israeli strike on a truck convoy on April 1 that killed seven aid workers.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that three of his sons and other family members were killed in an Israeli air raid on a vehicle in a refugee camp near Gaza City. Haniyeh, who lives in exile in Qatar, stated that his family had gathered for Eid al-Fitr when they were targeted. He thanked God for the honor brought by their sacrifice, stating that their deaths would inspire hope, a future, and freedom for their people.