War between Israel and Hamas: Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza reopens after rocket attack

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday it has reopened its Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after days of closure, but the U.N. said no humanitarian aid has yet arrived and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side after that the workers fled. during Israel’s military incursion into the area.

The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby and, on Tuesday, an Israeli tank brigade. He seized the nearby Rafah crossing. between Gaza and Egypt, forcing its closure. The two facilities are the main entry terminals for food, medicine and other supplies essential for the survival of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians.

The Israeli incursion did not appear to be the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the city of Rafah that Israel has repeatedly promised. But aid officials warn that the prolonged closure of the two crossings could cause aid operations to collapse, worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN says “full-blown famine” is already underway in the north.

The United States paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was nearing a decision on whether to launch a large-scale attack on Rafah, further widening divisions between the two close allies.

The United States says it is concerned about the fate of around 1.3 million Palestinians crowded into Rafah, most of whom fled the fight elsewhere. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’s last stronghold and that a broader offensive there is needed to dismantle the group’s military and governance capabilities.

Meanwhile, the United States, Egypt and Qatar are stepping up efforts to close gaps in a possible agreement for at least a temporary ceasefire and the release of some of the dozens of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Israel has linked the threatened Rafah operation to the fate of those negotiations. CIA chief William Burns, who has been traveling the region for talks on the ceasefire agreement, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations behind closed doors.

With the seizure of Rafah, Israel now controls all Gaza crossings for the first time since it withdrew troops and settlers from the territory nearly two decades ago, although it has maintained a blockade with Egypt’s cooperation for most of that time. The Rafah crossing has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and leave. Kerem Shalom is Gaza’s main cargo terminal.

U.N. World Food Program Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told The Associated Press that the U.N. agency has lost access to its Gaza food warehouse in Rafah, which he said was “communicated as restricted area”.

“We understand it is still there, but we are extremely concerned about the looting,” Skau said during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, adding that a U.N. logistics warehouse in Rafah had already been looted. He said the WFP was able to secure a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, but has not yet stocked it with food.

Associated Press journalists heard sporadic explosions and gunfire in the Rafah crossing area overnight, including two large explosions early Wednesday. The Israeli military reported six launches from Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, said the Kerem Shalom crossing reopened on Wednesday morning. But Juliette Touma, UNRWA communications director, said that as of late Wednesday afternoon no aid had arrived and the UN agency had been forced to ration fuel, which is imported through Rafah.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 46 patients and wounded who were scheduled to leave for medical treatment on Tuesday were stranded.

U.N. agencies and aid groups have increased humanitarian assistance in recent weeks as Israel lifted some restrictions and opened an additional northern crossing under pressure from the United States, its closest ally.

But aid workers say the closure of Rafah, which is the only gateway for fuel for trucks and generators, could have serious repercussions, and the UN says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”

WFP’s Skau said some food has been delivered to the north in recent weeks.

“When we got there, people were coming out of the rubble extremely weak, unable to even carry the box of food,” he said, adding that an increase in infectious diseases among children could worsen the crisis in the north.

“It is that combination of widespread disease and acute malnutrition that constitutes the deadly cocktail,” he said.

COGAT said 60 aid trucks entered through the northern crossing on Tuesday. About 500 trucks entered Gaza every day before the war.

The war began when Hamas militants breached Israel’s defenses on October 7 and devastated military bases and nearby farming communitieskilling about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping another 250. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 more after most of the rest were freed during a ceasefire in November.

The war has killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and driven about 80% of Gaza’s population, 2.3 million Palestinians, from their homes. Israel’s military campaign has been One of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history.reducing large areas of Gaza to rubble.

Biden has repeatedly warned Netanyahu not to launch an invasion of Rafah. But Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have threatened to topple his government if he calls off an offensive or makes too many concessions in ceasefire talks.

The United States has historically provided Israel with enormous amounts of military aid, which has only accelerated since the start of the war.

The detained shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 smaller ones, while U.S. concerns focused on how the larger bombs could be used in a dense urban environment, an official said Tuesday. American about the condition. of anonymity to discuss this delicate matter. The official said a final decision had not yet been made on how to proceed with the shipment.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller in Washington and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war