Under the direction of the Israeli government in partnership with COGAT on Tuesday night, six humanitarian aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip in a convoy from the United Nations World Food Program, testing out a new route for the delivery of the aid.
The convoy used a road paved by the Israel Defense Forces to enter the enclave via the “96th Gate” on the border security fence close to Kibbutz Be’eri.
“WFP delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City early Tuesday in the first successful convoy to the north since February 20,” the UN World Food Program said in a statement posted to the X social media platform.
“With the people in northern Gaza on the brink of famine, we need deliveries every day, plus we need entry points directly into the north.”
The UN World Food Program is the largest humanitarian aid agency in the world.
“This was a pilot to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid, as they often do,” Israeli government spokesperson Tal Heinrich emphasized Wednesday at a briefing with reporters.
Israeli security personnel checked the trucks at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, she said, adding that the results of the pilot will be presented to the government.
“We have been taking efforts to facilitate more aid into northern Gaza. Over the past two months, 202 aid trucks arrive in the north of the Strip; the overwhelming majority of which were successfully coordinated with the private sector.
“Once again, we emphasize: there is no limit to the amount of aid that can be delivered into Gaza.”
