Israel announced on Friday that it was taking steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, including reopening a key border crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced the plan as President Joe Biden announced whether U.S. support for the upcoming Gaza war would lead to Israel taking further action to protect civilians and aid workers. This was just hours after he said he had contracted the disease. The announcement did not elaborate on the amount or type of items to be brought in.
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Yet, despite their differences, the Biden administration has continued to provide critical military aid and diplomatic support to Israel's six-month war against Hamas. Israel faces increasing international isolation after its forces killed seven aid workers helping deliver food in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll of Palestinians on Thursday exceeded 33,000, with another 75,600 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally, but it says women and children account for two-thirds of the deaths.
The United Nations has announced that much of the population in northern Gaza is at risk of starvation. The United Nations Supreme Court has concluded that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, Israel strongly denies the charges, and the United Nations Security Council has issued a legally binding cease-fire call.
The war began on October 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.
