Israel Allows Humanitarian Aid into Gaza Strip During Biden Visit
Israel announced on Wednesday that it would permit basic humanitarian aid from Egypt to enter the Gaza Strip, following a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital. The decision came as US President Joe Biden visited Israel and called for emergency aid to be allowed through. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded by stating that it would not hinder the delivery of food, water, and medicine to the southern region of the besieged territory.
However, the United Nations, which is the largest aid provider to Gaza, expressed its lack of information regarding the deal. Meanwhile, President Biden, joining Israel in blaming the hospital explosion on a misfired rocket by Palestinian militants, cited Pentagon data. Biden also pledged to seek Congressional approval for an “unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense” and urged the country not to be “consumed” by rage over the recent attack that initiated the war.
In light of Biden’s request, Netanyahu’s office stated that Israel would allow humanitarian assistance from Egypt, specifically limited to food, water, and medicine for civilians in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge. However, the aid’s passage is conditional upon the supplies not reaching Hamas, the militant group controlling Gaza.
Aid organizations estimate that one million people have been displaced since the start of the war with Hamas. Netanyahu’s office added that Israel would not allow any humanitarian assistance from its own territory unless around 200 hostages abducted by Hamas were returned. Additionally, the Israeli government, backed by Biden, demanded that the International Red Cross be granted access to the hostages.
President Biden emphasized that the aid delivery would be subject to inspections. He announced that the United States was cooperating with the UN, Egypt, and other regional powers to expedite the movement of trucks across the border and allocated $100 million in US aid for the West Bank and Gaza. However, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), responsible for Palestinian aid, stated that it had no information on Israel’s statement and called for the resumption of fuel imports to Gaza due to shortages affecting water systems.
Throughout the conflict, Israel has restricted access to power, fuel, medicine, and food in Gaza, allowing only a severely limited fresh water supply. Earlier, Biden supported Israel’s account of the fatal hospital explosion based on data from the US Defense Department. The White House reported that current assessments, based on overhead imagery, communications intercepts, and open source intelligence, indicated that Israel was not responsible for the blast.
While Israel attributed the explosion to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, Palestinian officials claim that it resulted from an Israeli airstrike that caused hundreds of casualties. The cause of the blast and the death toll has not been independently verified. Regardless, the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reported 471 deaths due to the explosion.
The hospital explosion overshadowed Biden’s visit, leading Arab leaders to cancel a previously scheduled summit with the US president. Volunteers have been searching through the hospital debris, searching for body parts among the wreckage. Palestinian officials and the UN warned that Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals are struggling to cope with the injured.
The Israel Defense Forces conducted an internal investigation and concluded that a rocket misfired from a cemetery near the hospital and crashed into the adjacent car park, igniting the rocket warhead and propellant fuel. The IDF released mobile phone audio purportedly containing a conversation between Hamas operatives acknowledging the failed rocket launch. However, many regional leaders blamed Israel for the explosion.
Following news of the blast, Jordan canceled a planned summit with Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas declared a three-day mourning period and protests erupted in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Countries including the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iran condemned the incident and blamed Israel.
President Sisi accused Israel of attempting to push Palestinians into Egypt, warning that such an influx could escalate the war into a regional conflict. He stated that if Palestinians fled to Egypt’s neighboring Sinai Peninsula, it would become a base for operations against Israel, potentially prompting Israeli strikes against Egyptian territory.
According to Palestinian health officials, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 3,300 people. The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack that killed over 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with no supplies entering the region. Aid shipments are currently awaiting permission to enter on the Egyptian side of the crossing. Despite Israel’s warning to evacuate the northern part of Gaza, some people have returned due to a lack of shelter.
The visit of President Biden to Israel will be remembered for the deadly hospital explosion, deepening tensions in the region and intensifying calls for humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.