The Israeli War Cabinet decided this weekend to approve the direct transfer of humanitarian aid to northern Gaza through a reopened land crossing into the enclave from Israel.
It is believed that allowing the aid to enter Gaza through the old Karni Crossing near Kibbutz Nahal Oz will prevent interference and looting by Hamas terrorists.
The Prime Minister’s Office last week denied any knowledge of a plan to reopen the Karni Crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza; reports again emerged about the plan early Sunday. Karni will be the third land crossing from Israel into Gaza to be used for the purpose of providing aid to Gaza civilians.
Kibbutz Nahal Oz was among more than two dozen communities and several military bases along the Israeli border with Gaza invaded on October 7, 2023 by some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists and Gaza civilians. The invaders tortured and then slaughtered at least 1,200 people and abducted 253 others; 134 still remain captive in Gaza, including at least who are no longer among the living.
Up to this point, humanitarian aid trucks first underwent inspection by Israeli security personnel at Israel’s Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings. The aid was then trucked to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza for delivery into the enclave.
Both Kerem Shalom and Rafah are located on the southern Gaza border.
Hamas still has four functioning battalions in Rafah, a city that straddles the Gaza-Egypt border.
According to the IDF, Hamas operatives have been hijacking an estimated 60 percent of all shipments with food, water, medicine, fuel and other aid.
The Karni crossing, which opened in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo Accords, was a cargo terminal used primarily for the delivery of grain and animal feed into the enclave.
The crossing was closed for security reasons in 2011 and its remaining structures were demolished by Israel in 2022.
Hundreds of Israelis have tried for weeks to block the movement of humanitarian aid trucks in and out of Kerem Shalom and other inspection points, chanting “Don’t feed Hamas.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government ministers have defended the deliveries as an important element in preserving international support for Israeli efforts to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages.
