Zikim crossing in northern Gaza opens for humanitarian aid, Israel says

Israel has faced calls to let assistance into bluish Gaza done the crossing, which has been closed for 2 months.

Zikim crossing, the main introduction constituent into the devastated bluish Gaza Strip, has been reopened to let the travel of humanitarian assistance into the region, according to Israeli officials.

The announcement connected Wednesday came 2 months aft Israel unopen the crossing, and followed repeated calls from United Nations assistance agencies to let assistance to travel straight into the hard-hit bluish portion of Gaza.

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Under the ceasefire brokered by the United States, which took effect connected October 10, assistance deliveries were to beryllium importantly ramped up, with astatine slightest 600 trucks a time expected to participate the Strip.

But volumes person been overmuch little than that, and the UN has warned that the hunger situation successful Gaza remains catastrophic, arsenic assistance convoys to the north, wherever famine was declared successful August, look a dilatory and hard way from the south.

“Today, the Zikim crossing has been opened for the introduction of humanitarian assistance trucks into the Gaza Strip,” COGAT, the Israeli Defence Ministry assemblage that oversees civilian affairs successful the occupied Palestinian territory, said connected X.

COGAT said humanitarian assistance entering done Zikim, supplied by the UN and different planetary organisations, would beryllium taxable to the accustomed Israeli information checks earlier introduction and distributed done the UN.

A COGAT spokesperson told the AFP quality bureau that the crossing would stay unfastened permanently.

A convoy of trucks transports assistance for Palestinians successful Khan Younis, confederate Gaza, successful October [File: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters]

Reopening ‘vital’

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said it was the archetypal clip Zikim crossing had been operational since the implementation of the ceasefire deal, aft having been unopen down by the Israeli subject “under a information pretext”.

The reopening meant that 3 crossings into Gaza were present open, with Karem Abu Salem (known arsenic Kerem Shalom successful Israel) successful the southbound and al-Karara (Kissufim) successful cardinal Gaza besides operational.

In a caller report, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid had said the opening of nonstop crossings to the northbound was “vital to guarantee that capable assistance reaches radical arsenic soon arsenic possible”.

Attacks, hunt for captives’ bodies continue

The reopening of Zikim crossing was invited quality successful Gaza, wherever Palestinians endure dire humanitarian conditions much than a period aft the ceasefire, arsenic good arsenic ongoing attacks from Israeli forces.

According to Al Jazeera teams connected the ground, Israeli warplanes launched 3 aerial raids connected the metropolis of Beit Lahiya successful the northbound of the Strip, portion an country eastbound of the Jabalia exile camp, besides successful the north, was targeted with Israeli artillery shelling.

Al Jazeera teams besides reported gunfire from Israeli positions stationed eastbound of the Bureij exile campy successful cardinal Gaza.

The attacks came arsenic members of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s equipped wing, and a Red Cross squad entered an country wrong the alleged “yellow line”, demarcating territory nether Israeli subject control, successful an effort to retrieve the bodies of captives.

Since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect successful Gaza, Hamas freed each 20 surviving captives and returned the remains of 24 deceased, with 4 bodies yet to beryllium returned to fulfil the archetypal signifier of the agreement.

Lead Israeli negotiator resigns ministerial post

As the hunt for the remaining bodies played retired successful Gaza, the caput of the Israeli delegation successful negotiations that produced the ceasefire and speech woody said helium was resigning from his ministerial post.

Ron Dermer, a adjacent adjutant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced successful a station connected X that helium was resigning arsenic curate of strategical affairs, a station helium had held since 2022.

“What the aboriginal holds for me, I bash not know. But I bash cognize this: No substance what I do, I volition proceed to bash my portion to assistance unafraid the Jewish future,” helium said.

Dermer did not bespeak whether helium would proceed arsenic pb negotiator successful the ongoing talks astir the 2nd signifier of the Gaza deal.

In a connection connected X, Netanyahu thanked Dermer for his “tremendous assistance to maine and the authorities of Israel” and said helium was definite the 54-year-old had “much much to lend successful the future”.