Israel has allowed a small convoy carrying food to enter the northern Gaza Strip directly through an Israeli border crossing for the first time since the war with Hamas began on October 7, as global pressure intensifies to let more desperately needed aid into the territory, where hundreds of thousands are at risk of starvation.

The Israeli military said that it had allowed six trucks carrying supplies from the UN World Food Programme to enter the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, not far from the Israeli village of Be’eri, where more people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attack than in any other community. The World Food Programme said that its delivery, containing food for 25,000 people, was its first since February 20 to the northern part of the enclave.

For five months, aid groups had been able to reach northern Gaza only by entering through one of two southern border crossings, and then attempting a difficult and hazardous drive to the north. Few had successfully made the trip to distribution points. After the convoy on Tuesday cleared Israeli inspection, it crossed into Gaza through a gate on a security fence that had not previously been used for aid deliveries, the Israeli military said.

The food was only a sliver of what would be needed to feed hungry civilians in Gaza suffering from extreme food shortages, particularly in the north, where the Israeli army invaded in October and where some residents have resorted to eating leaves and animal feed. Little aid has reached northern Gaza after major relief groups suspended operations there, citing lawlessness, poor road conditions and Israeli restrictions on convoys.

To avoid the risk of crowds jumping on trucks to grab supplies, the aid from the northern convoy was distributed quickly and close to the fence, said Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme. The convoy included one truck full of flour and five carrying food packages. The delivery came after six days of intensive negotiations, she said.

“The significance of this is that it revives the hope of continued access to northern Gaza over land,” Etefa said. “It’s a good step, but we just hope that it doesn’t end up being a one-off.”

Israeli officials did not say when more trucks might enter northern Gaza directly from Israel. But Shimon Freedman, a spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli agency overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza, called the convoy a “success” and said that “hopefully soon” more trucks would follow.

Even as Israel let aid directly into the north, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main UN agency providing support for Palestinians in Gaza, said Israeli forces struck a food distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah.

New York Times News Service