Egypt has agreed to let U.N. humanitarian trucks pass through Israel’s main checkpoint into the Gaza Strip, but it is unclear whether the trucks will be able to enter the southern city of Rafah as Israel steps up its offensive against Hamas militants.
Israeli forces have seized the Rafah border crossing into Egypt and it has since been out of service, but the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Israel remains open, The Associated Press reported.
Israel said it was sending trucks across the port of entry, but the UN said fighting made Kerem Shalom too dangerous to go there.
The UN said it had only received 143 trucks in the past 19 days, and Israeli authorities said hundreds of truckloads of aid were left in the Gaza Strip uncollected by humanitarian groups, according to the Associated Press.
Instead, the UN has had to deliver aid through border crossings in northern Gaza and newly built US docks to bring in supplies by sea.
As Israel continues its military operations in the region, some 900,000 people are fleeing the city of Rafah, where they remained throughout the war, and aid agencies say there is nowhere else they can safely go.
Israeli officials say they must invade the city because it is Hamas’ last remaining stronghold. Despite continuing criticism from around the world, the Israeli army has increased the number of its troops in and around Rafah.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt Operation Rafah in response to accusations that its forces are committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The ruling also called on Israel to open the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow the “unhindered provision” of “urgently needed” basic services and humanitarian aid.
The Egyptian announcement appears to resolve issues on one side of the border: Israel maintains that it is keeping the Rafah border crossing open and has asked Egypt to coordinate when sending aid convoys, the Associated Press reported.
Egypt has rejected this and demanded that the Palestinians resume control of the border crossings, but the United States has urged Egypt to resume efforts to allow more trucks to reach the Palestinians.
The ICJ ruling is a major rebuke to Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas, but it is unclear how it will be enforced: the court has no enforcement mechanism, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected other calls for Israel to scale back its military operations.
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