by Temitope Oladeji
19/5/2025
Israel has announced it will allow limited food supplies into the Gaza Strip, even as it launches a heightened ground offensive in the embattled Palestinian territory.
The move, disclosed late Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, follows a recommendation from the Israeli military and comes amid growing international pressure to ease a two-month blockade that has pushed the enclave to the brink of famine.
“Israel will allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.
Speaking in a video on Monday, Netanyahu acknowledged that the decision was influenced by mounting concerns from key international partners.
Without naming specific countries, he said that Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had warned that continued images of mass hunger in Gaza could jeopardize their support.
“They said, ‘There is one thing we cannot accept: images of hunger, mass hunger. We won’t be able to stand by you,” Netanyahu said. “Therefore, to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem.”
He stressed that the quantity of aid would be “minimal” and did not offer details on when food deliveries would resume.
The announcement followed a fresh wave of Israeli ground operations that, according to reports, killed more than 150 people in the previous 24 hours.
The offensive marks one of the most intense military actions since the conflict began.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher confirmed that Israel had reached out to the UN to discuss resuming limited humanitarian assistance.
Discussions are reportedly ongoing regarding the feasibility and logistics of aid distribution, given the challenging conditions on the ground.