Jerusalem allows limited food deliveries to Gaza, stressing inspections and efforts to block Hamas from diverting aid during ongoing operations.

By Joshua Marks and Amelie Botbol, JNS JNS

Five United Nations trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Monday, the Israeli military confirmed.

The transfer followed the recommendation of Israel Defense Forces officials and was carried out under the directive of the political echelon.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) emphasized that all aid was subjected to “a thorough security inspection” by the Defense Ministry’s Crossing Points Authority. The IDF reiterated that it “will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip while making every effort to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas.”

The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Eden Bar Tal, said: “From the beginning of the war, Israel has stated clearly—we are monitoring the levels of basic items in Gaza, and we will facilitate the supply of items in low levels to avoid shortages.”

The resumption of aid deliveries follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Sunday directive to reopen the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the move is intended to prevent a starvation crisis that could threaten the continuation of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” 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,” according to the statement. Israel also emphasized that it “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.”

The move comes as a new U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), is set to begin operations in the Strip by the end of the month. The group aims to provide aid through a plan endorsed by Israel and supported by private American firms.

The foundation has asked Israel to allow international aid groups to resume deliveries under current procedures until its infrastructure is in place. No humanitarian assistance has entered Gaza since March 2.

Religious Zionism Knesset Member Moshe Solomon voiced strong criticism of the deliveries.

“We strongly opposed the issue of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, because it is actually a logistical tool strengthening Hamas and harming Israel’s security,” Solomon told JNS. However, he acknowledged the need for limited exceptions during wartime: “When it comes to aid that is specific—aid that comes directly to residents who are not involved in terrorism—we allow it to be introduced in a measured and selective manner.”

Solomon added that Israel’s war goals remain unchanged. “Our goal is definitely the destruction of the Hamas terrorist organization and the immediate return of all the hostages, both alive and dead,” he said. “As long as these goals are not achieved, we will continue to exert very strong military pressure, so that the Hamas terrorist organization will give up, surrender, or be destroyed, and peace will return to the south of the Land of Israel.”