The US military will fly three planeloads of crucial humanitarian aid to North Sinai in Egypt to be brought into Gaza to aid civilians in the region, according to senior administration officials.
The aid that is being brought will include medical supplies, food and winter weather gear as Gaza enters its rainy season – which can be wet, cold and even lead to flooding – with countless Palestinians displaced in temporary shelters. The first of the three flights is set to arrive Tuesday.
The announcement comes amid a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas that has been extended for an additional two days to potentially secure the release of further hostages and allow increased humanitarian aid into Gaza. One official noted that this ongoing effort to help supply civilians is not linked to the ongoing hostage deal and will continue when hostilities ultimately resume.
The aid being flown in by the United States, which officials called a “significant contribution,” will be distributed by the United Nations and replenish stocks of supplies, which had been depleted as the pace of aid being brought into Gaza increased in recent days.
The effort builds upon five previous flights of aid being brought into the region on domestic planes, the officials added.
Administration officials have also been having discussions with the Israeli government over the last few weeks about not just providing basic humanitarian assistance to Gaza but moving to what they described as phase two: Getting commercial goods into Gaza. One of the officials said that the current level of humanitarian aid is not enough, and they need to reach a point where they can provide the sustained delivery of commercial goods in addition to basic humanitarian aid. They added that everyone “from the president on down” understands that what is getting into Gaza is not enough for normal life in…
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