Israel to reopen Erez crossing into Gaza after Biden sounds warning over protecting civilians

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Source: The Guardian

The announcement was made hours after a warning from US president Joe Biden that future US support for Israel would depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.

The office of the Israeli prime minister said early on Friday that the Erez crossing, which lies in northern Gaza and for years served as the only passenger terminal for people to move in and out of the territory, would be temporarily reopened.

According to the statement, more aid would also be allowed through the port of Ashdod, which lies about 40km (25 miles) north of Gaza, and authorities would also allow “increased Jordanian aid through Kerem Shalom”, a border crossing in southern Israel.

“Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint,” said the Israeli statement. “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,” the statement added.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/05/israel-reopen-erez-crossing-gaza-biden-warning-war-netanyahu-palestine

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With the UN warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza, humanitarian organisations had repeatedly requested full access to Israel’s Ashdod port, some 20 miles (30km) away, to no avail.

Now, in a major change of policy, Israel’s security cabinet has decided to temporarily open it up for aid deliveries.

The nearest entry point to Gaza, the large Erez crossing, will also be opened for the first time since the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October, and the amount of aid from Jordan moving through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza will increase.

The steps were quickly announced following a half hour call between President Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just days after an Israeli strike killed a team from the US charity, World Central Kitchen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-68738452?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=660f99c2683d4b45f9380f0f%26Israel%27s%20shift%20on%20aid%20marks%20major%20change%20of%20policy%262024-04-05T06%3A27%3A34.485Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:%37f613cea-9fb1-48ea-911d-12e6bf5d5017&pinned_post_asset_id=660f99c2683d4b45f9380f0f&pinned_post_type=share

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1. Good

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2. Blinken says Israeli offers to increase flow of aid to Gaza are welcome but may not be sufficient

LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Blinken said that opening more border crossings, if fully implemented, has the potential to surge assistance to Palestinians caught in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. However, the U.S. also wants to see tangible steps to bolster the protection of civilians and aid workers, he said.

In addition, he called for an “independent, thorough and fully publicized investigation” into the recent killings of aid workers. Seven employees of the charity World Central Kitchen, including six international volunteers, were killed in multiple Israeli airstrikes on their three-car convoy in Gaza late Monday.

The military announced Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their role in the strikes on the convoy, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-news-04-05-2024-486f993406443259b122a0fac8fa6255