Israel on Wednesday said it reopened a key border crossing into Gaza after it was closed off last weekend following a Hamas rocket attack that killed four Israeli soldiers, but the United Nations says crucial humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people is not yet getting through.
Israel’s Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which handles civilian and humanitarian affairs, said trucks from Egypt have already arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
But the United Nations agency that provides relief for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said later Wednesday that aid is not getting through the crossing.
Scott Anderson, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, said Wednesday there is no aid entering across the entire territory.
“No fuel or aid has entered into [Gaza] and this is disastrous for the humanitarian response,” Anderson wrote on the social platform X.
Gaza has three border crossings to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, including Kerem Shalom and Erez, a checkpoint in the north. Both are controlled by Israel.
A third crossing connecting Egypt and Gaza in the southern city of Rafah has also been crucial for aid delivery, but was recently seized by Israeli soldiers, effectively shutting it down and putting it under Israel’s control for the first time.
The U.N. has already warned of a famine in northern Gaza and is warning of an even worse disaster if the border crossings remain closed.
The U.S. had urged Israel to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing after its closure following the rocket attacks, which also injured three Israeli soldiers in the area of the border. Hamas had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, told reporters Tuesday the crossing would be opened soon after President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He assured the president that it would be reopened,” Kirby said.
More than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and human rights groups and the United Nations are warning the situation will grow worse if Israel conducts a full-scale invasion of Rafah.
The limited Israeli incursion that seized the border crossing does not appear to be a larger attack, but Netanyahu has vowed to proceed in Rafah when his forces are ready.
The U.S. recently paused a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs to Israel over concerns about an invasion of Rafah.