Five trucks carrying baby food and other desperately needed aid entered the territory of over two million Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, according to the Israeli defence body in charge of co-ordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT.
The UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, called it a "welcome development" but described the trucks as a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".
Food security experts last week warned of famine in Gaza. During the latest ceasefire that Israel ended in March, some 600 aid trucks entered Gaza each day.
Fletcher said that given the chaotic situation on the ground, the UN expects the aid could be looted or stolen, a growing problem as resources became increasingly scarce.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his decision to resume "minimal" aid to Gaza came after allies said they couldn't support Israel's new military offensive if there are "images of hunger" coming from the Palestinian territory.
Shortly after Israel announced the first trucks entered Gaza, the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement calling the aid "wholly inadequate".
They threatened "concrete actions" against Israel, including sanctions, for its activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and called on Israel to stop its "egregious" new military actions in Gaza.
Israel over the weekend launched a new wave of air and ground operations across Gaza, and the army ordered the evacuation of its second-largest city, Khan Younis, where a massive operation earlier in the 19-month war left much of the area in ruins.
Israel says it is pressuring Hamas to release the remaining hostages abducted in the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Hamas has said it will only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
Netanyahu repeated that Israel plans on "taking control of all of Gaza".
He has said Israel would encourage what he describes as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries — something that Palestinians have rejected.
Netanyahu said Israel's "greatest friends in the world" had told him, "We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you."
The Trump administration, which has voiced full support for Israel's actions and blames Hamas for deaths in Gaza, has expressed growing concern over the hunger crisis.
Netanyahu said aid into Gaza would be "minimal" and act as a bridge toward the launch of a new aid system in Gaza. A US-backed organisation will distribute assistance in hubs that will be secured by the Israeli military.
According to aid officials familiar with the plan, it will involve setting up distribution points mostly in southern Gaza, forcing many Palestinians to move south once again. The recent ceasefire saw hundreds of thousands return to homes in the north.
UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the plan, saying it won't reach enough people and would weaponise aid in contravention of humanitarian principles.
Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes have killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, local health authorities say, as mediators host a new round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has expanded its strikes on the enclave, killing hundreds of people since Thursday, in preparation for a new ground offensive to achieve "operational control" in parts of Gaza.
"We have at least 100 martyrs since overnight," Gaza health ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran told Reuters by phone on Sunday.
"Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment."
with reuters
