American and European officials are pushing for aid to Gaza to pass through an Israeli port
American, British and European officials are pressuring Israel to allow aid for Gaza to pass through the Israeli port of Ashdod to help ease a spreading humanitarian crisis, according to six U.S. and European officials.
The Israeli army responded to the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel by invading Gaza and declaring a siege, which had been under a blockade for years. The country has since allowed limited amounts of aid into the enclave through two border points, one in Israel and the other in Egypt, but those deliveries have been stalled by inspections and logistical problems.
Humanitarians say much more aid is needed to meaningfully help Gaza's 2.2 million residents amid severe shortages of food, water and supplies.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken urged Israeli officials to allow Gaza aid through the port of Ashdod when he was in Tel Aviv earlier this month, a US official said. That official and the others interviewed about the new aid proposal spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
Under the new proposed deal, aid would be shipped to Ashdod from Cyprus – an Israeli ally – three of the officials said. From Ashdod it would then be transported to Kerem Shalom, the Israeli border crossing through which aid enters Gaza, a European official said.
The ultimate goal, a U.S. and European official said, is to create a workable alternative to delivering aid through Egypt in a way that meets Israeli demands for security checks. Israeli officials have demanded strict inspections on all goods entering Gaza, to root out anything that could benefit Hamas.
A small step came at the White House on Friday said that Israel would allow flour for Gaza to be shipped through Ashdod, amid efforts to “find options for a more direct maritime delivery of aid.”
“We need these shipments to continue and for this port to remain open for aid,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. said on X after the White House announcement about the flour shipments.
The Israeli government has not formally announced the decision to allow flour shipments through Ashdod, and the prime minister's office declined to comment. But Israel's security cabinet quietly agreed to the plan on Friday, according to an Israeli official briefed on the deliberations.
Ashdod is located about 25 kilometers north of Gaza on Israel's Mediterranean coast. Israel has been reluctant to open Ashdod to aid destined for Gaza because of concerns that delivering more aid through Israeli soil could spark public backlash at a time when Israeli hostages are still being held in the enclave, according to one senior Israeli official who spoke on condition. of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
(For most of the war, aid was delivered to Egypt before being inspected by Israel near the border with Egypt, barely touching Israeli territory before being sent to Gaza. In December, some trucks from Jordan passed through Kerem Shalom .)
Gaza urgently needs help. The United Nations has warned that the risk of famine is increasing, clean water is scarce and diseases are spreading. Amid Israeli airstrikes and heavy fighting, Gaza hospitals are struggling to cope with a seemingly constant flow of wounded people and a grossly inadequate medical supply.
Aaron Bokserman And Edward Wong reporting contributed.