Israel says it will open aid routes into Gaza to increase the amount of humanitarian support entering the enclave.
The announcement early Friday came just hours after a tense phone call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden condemned the recent killing of aid workers and the general humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to the White House, and gave Netanyahu an ultimatum: implement “specific, concrete” steps to alleviate the crisis and protect civilians, or run the risk of the U.S. changing its policy toward Gaza.
After the dramatic call, Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s security cabinet had approved taking immediate steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. They include temporarily allowing Israel’s port in Ashdod to be used for processing aid shipments and the reopening of the Erez crossing in the north of the strip. The heavily fortified land crossing was destroyed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
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Israel will also allow aid shipments from Jordan to flow through another land crossing. “This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The Biden administration welcomed the decision, saying the measures “must now be fully and rapidly implemented.”
“As the President said today on the call, U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers,” National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
Watson added that the U.S. is prepared to work with international partners to ensure more aid is “reaching civilians in dire need throughout Gaza over the coming days and weeks.”
Biden has become increasingly critical of Israel’s handling of the war in recent weeks, with his sharpest criticisms coming after the deaths of seven food aid workers in Gaza on Monday in an attack on a humanitarian convoy.
The workers with World Central Kitchen—the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés—were “unintentionally” killed by Israeli forces, Netanyahu said, while Israel’s top military commander called the deaths a “mistake that followed a misidentification.” Andrés has insisted that the workers were targeted “systematically, car by car.”
The Israeli military on Friday said two officers had been dismissed and another three were reprimanded following an investigation into the incident. The IDF said its forces had mistakenly believed the vehicles had “Hamas operatives inside them,” and that the strikes “were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.”
Biden said in the wake of the killings that he was “outraged and heartbroken” and made it clear in his call with Netanyahu Thursday that “the strikes on humanitarian workers” were “unacceptable,” the White House said.
The Democrat has nevertheless faced criticism for not doing more to restrain Israel. Biden is already coming under political pressure from anti-war activists and has reportedly even been urged to try to bring the war to an end by the first lady, Jill Biden.
Israel’s announcement on boosting aid comes six months into the conflict which was launched in response to Hamas’ October attacks in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage. Since then, over 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The U.N. says large swathes of the population in the north of the enclave are on the verge of starvation.
