Israel announced on Wednesday that it had opened a key crossing into northern Gaza to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid provided by the United Nations and other international organizations.
“Today, the Zikim crossing has been opened for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip,” stated COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, on X.
A COGAT spokesman confirmed to AFP that the crossing would now remain open “permanently,” similar to the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, which has been the primary route for aid transfer since the war began in October 2023.
COGAT mentioned that humanitarian aid entering Gaza through Zikim, the main access point to Gaza’s heavily impacted north, would undergo standard Israeli security checks before being dispatched via the UN.
The UN’s World Food Programme reported in late October that it had been unable to collect cargo in north Gaza since the crossing was closed on September 12.
Humanitarian workers have stated that delivering aid to Gaza is complicated by extensive Israeli security checks and restrictions on numerous items.
Once inside Gaza, distributing aid to its final destinations is challenging due to infrastructure destruction or the risk of looting.
“The opening of direct crossings to the north is crucial to ensure that adequate aid reaches people as soon as possible,” highlighted the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) in a recent situation report.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) had confirmed famine conditions in north Gaza in August, a claim which COGAT disputed.
