Israel Says Key Crossing to North Gaza Opens for Humanitarian Aid

Israel said it had opened a key crossing into northern Gaza on Wednesday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Nations and other international organisations. "Today, the Zikim crossing has been opened for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip," COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said on X. When contacted by AFP, a COGAT spokesman said the crossing would now remain open "permanently", like the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza, through which the bulk of aid has been transferred since the war began in October 2023.

COGAT said that humanitarian aid entering Gaza through Zikim, the main access point to Gaza's hard-hit north, would be subject to the usual Israeli security checks prior to entering, before being dispatched via the UN. The UN's World Food Programme said in late October that it had not been able to collect cargo in north Gaza since the crossing was closed on September 12.

Getting humanitarian aid into Gaza is complicated by lengthy Israeli security checks and restrictions on the entry of a large number of items, humanitarian workers have said. Once inside Gaza, getting aid to its final intended destination is complicated due to the destruction of much of the infrastructure or the risk of looting. "The opening of direct crossings to the north is vital to ensure that sufficient aid reaches people as soon as possible," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) said in a recent situation report.

The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) had confirmed famine conditions in north Gaza in August, which COGAT contested.