A senior Israeli defense official said on Saturday there was no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip despite a tight blockade imposed on the territory amid the Hamas-Israel war. The statement came shortly after 20 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing.
More stories:
The official noted that 700,000 civilians have so far evacuated northern areas of Gaza and moved southward as Israel prepares for a ground incursion into the territory to uproot Hamas's presence there. However, 350,000 people still remain in Gaza City and the surrounding refugee camps.
2 View gallery
Humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza on Saturday
(Photo: Mahmoud Khaled / Getty Images)
"There is no shortage of water or food or medicine, for the next few weeks," the senior official said. "Many of those who remain in the northern part of the Strip, have left their homes and relocated to shelters. Hamas continues to work to keep civilians in the northern areas." The official said the humanitarian corridor defined by the IDF and communicated to Gazans, will remain free of attack.
He said 10 of the 20 hospitals in northern Gaza have already been evacuated. "We are in contact with hospital administrators there, who will all evacuate to the south. The Shifa hospital refuses to evacuate and some 30,000 civilians are already sheltering there," he said. "We are constantly monitoring the situation in contact with foreign governments, especially the U.S. and Egypt. We are at the beginning of a long and complex war and need maximum international legitimacy. We are striking all Hamas government and public institutions, including ministries and the police."
2 View gallery
Tents prepared to house Gazans fleeing northern parts of the Gaza Strip
(Photo: Haitham Imad / EPA)
The Rafah border crossing was opened on Saturday to allow the first convoy of humanitarian aid to enter the Strip. "We agreed to allow 20 trucks carrying food, water and medicine, in for the first time since the war began in response to a request from U.S. President Joe Biden and to be delivered to Gaza residents and not to the Hamas Terror group. Any fuel or humanitarian aid that gets to Hamas, we will attack and stop the flow of further aid," he said.
The senior official said the security services were discussing the day after the end of the war. "I am not talking about an Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip but about civilian systems of government and will have to find the suitable solution until there is a central government in place."