Over 300 Aid Trucks Enter Gaza in Highest Daily Total Since Start of War

April 8, 2024

by: JNS

Monday, 8 April 2024 | Israeli authorities on Sunday reported the highest number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza since the start of the war six months ago.

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories [COGAT], 322 aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Strip, the majority of which (228, 70%) were carrying food.

“There is no limit to the amount of aid that can be facilitated for the civilians in Gaza,” COGAT tweeted.

COGAT is a unit within the Israeli Defense Ministry that coordinates civilian issues between the Israeli government, military, international organizations and the Palestinian Authority.

The announcement comes amid increasing US and international pressure to get Gazans more assistance and to ensure the safety of aid workers following the accidental deaths of seven aid workers.

US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew on Sunday paid a visit to the Israel Defense Forces’s [IDF] Humanitarian Coordination and Deconfliction Cell, which was established following the deaths of the aid workers, including an American citizen.

Accompanied by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Lew toured the new situation room at IDF Southern Command headquarters in Beersheva. Senior IDF officials briefed the ambassador on measures being taken to accelerate the inspection, transfer and distribution of aid for residents of the Gaza Strip.

According to a Defense Ministry readout, Lew and Gallant discussed measures “to increase the number of access points for the delivery of aid by land and sea, to improve infrastructure and routes necessary for the delivery of aid and to streamline security inspections.”

The Coordination and Deconfliction Cell, which opened on April 2, will help “facilitate the delivery of aid in a manner that will enable the IDF to continue operating against Hamas terrorism while also ensuring the security of aid workers,” the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Since October 7, approximately 369,990 tons of aid and 19,776 trucks have been inspected at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings. A total of 257,530 tons of food in 12,197 trucks have entered the Strip since the start of the war. Tens of thousands of tons of shelter, medical equipment, water and other aid, as well as fuel and cooking gas, have also entered.

Posted on April 8, 2024

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on April 8, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90/jns.org