On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement, saying, “On the recommendation of the IDF and based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip. Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
In the briefings that followed, government sources suggested the “basic quantity of food” would amount to nine or ten trucks a day entering the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday morning, the group Tzav 9 (Order nine, named after the order for the immediate mobilization of reserve soldiers into the IDF, whose provisions are enshrined in Section 9 of the Reserve Service Law) tweeted an image of a slew of trucks waiting to enter Gaza, with the text:
“This morning in Kerem Shalom. These are not nine or ten trucks; these are dozens of trucks that will supply Hamas today, and more and more trucks continue to arrive in Kerem Shalom on their way to the Gaza Strip. The State of Israel is sending five divisions of reservists, hundreds of meters away, to fight Hamas, and at the same time is strengthening the terrorist organization against them.”
הבוקר בכרם שלום>>
“אלו ממש לא תשע או עשר משאיות, אלו עשרות משאיות שיספקו עוד היום את חמאס, וממשיכות עוד ועוד משאיות להגיע לכרם שלום בדרכן לרצועה. מדינת ישראל שולחת חמש אוגדות של מילואימניקים, מאות מטרים משם, להלחם בחמאס ובאותו הזמן מחזקת את ארגון הטרור מולם.” pic.twitter.com/tfdqyikCRf
— תנועת צו 9- בשירות העם (@9_tzav) May 20, 2025
On Monday, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada warned that they would consider taking “concrete actions,” including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not halt its renewed military offensive and continues to obstruct the delivery of aid into Gaza.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded: “By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities.”
But while rejecting the Western powers’ call for Israel to give up its effort to annihilate the terrorists who violated, murdered, and kidnapped its innocent civilians, he told Israelis that he was obligated to provide minimal nutrition to Gazans lest they suffer from famine. This, despite the fact that videos coming out of Gaza continue to show civilians there managing to eat well.
Latest from Gaza’s humanitarian crisis:
Due to the tragic bread shortage, residents are once again forced to settle for gourmet desserts and Nutella-stuffed cones????.
Sending thoughts and prayers???? pic.twitter.com/bHAJiMicW7— GAZAWOOD – the PALLYWOOD saga (@GAZAWOOD1) May 14, 2025
Tzav 9 issued this call for action:
“In a decision marked by a flag stained with the blood of our sons and daughters, the cabinet has chosen to resume aid and supplies to the brutal murderers who raped, beheaded, and slaughtered us. The so-called ‘death trucks’ to Hamas—operating for months—have already cost us the best of our people.
Now, at a critical moment when the objectives of this war—the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas—are closer than ever, the Israeli government is committing an unimaginable crime by renewing the flow of oxygen to Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu, the responsibility lies with you. We will not provide ‘treats’ or aid to Hamas—not until every last hostage is home.
We are exhausted from having to explain what should be obvious. We are tired of screaming the self-evident. And so, we call upon all the dear citizens of Israel—those who marched with us, from left to right, secular and religious, city dwellers and kibbutzniks, southern residents, reservists, wounded soldiers, and above all, the bereaved families and the families of the kidnapped—come and block the trucks. Join us again. We cannot stand idly by.
Victory and hope depend on us alone. This time, we will not let it pass. Join us to block the Hamas trucks, bring the kidnapped home, protect our soldiers, and defend our nation.”
