Israel will flood Gaza with aid

Israel is trying to “flood” Gaza with aid as international pressure to address the territory’s humanitarian crisis grows, said its military.

Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said Israel would facilitate further aid convoys, after a new land route opened up to deliver food to northern Gaza, reports BBC.

The United Nations (UN) has warned that Gaza, under Israeli attack since the war with Hamas began in October, is at risk of famine.

Brussels says starvation is being used as a weapon of war in the territory.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said earlier that land routes had been deliberately closed off to prevent the delivery of aid.

The UN says “ongoing fighting and Israeli bombardment, as well as insecurity, frequent border closures and access constraints” have impeded safe and efficient aid operations.

On Wednesday, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm Hagari suggested more routes could open up.

“We are trying to flood the area... with humanitarian aid,” he told reporters.

The IDF announced earlier that six lorries carrying food had entered via the 96th gate in the Gaza border fence, near Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, on Tuesday night.

Rear Adm Hagari said more convoys would follow as well as deliveries from other entry points, alongside drops by air and sea, adding that more needed to be done to make sure aid could be distributed fairly and efficiently.

He said the deliveries would not follow a routine, with Israel concerned about aid falling into the hands of Hamas.

The war began when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.

More than 31,200 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.