Israel has halted deliveries of aid to north Gaza, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged it was being hijacked by Hamas — a claim rejected by community leaders in the Palestinian enclave.
The suspension, which an Israeli official said on Thursday would last for two days, comes during international alarm at the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the shattered territory. The UN warned last month that Israel’s 20-month offensive had left the entire population at risk of famine.
The situation is particularly acute in northern Gaza, where Israel allows only a tiny trickle of UN-led aid deliveries, and a new food distribution system run by a previously unknown private group does not function.