Israel says it is building a new land crossing into northern Gaza, where starvation is most acute, after previously promising to open the Erez crossing. The new crossing would handle up to 50 aid trucks a day and the first trucks have already crossed it, Israeli officials say.

Israel has also said it will allow the Ashdod deep water port a short distance to the north to be used as well as allowing more aid from Jordan to enter via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza.

On Wednesday, 10 April, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of gradually increasing Gaza aid deliveries to pre-war levels of 500 trucks a day.

It follows the Israeli military’s killing of seven aid workers on 1 April, which prompted the US to tell Israel to prevent civilian harm and humanitarian suffering if it wanted to maintain US support.

Israel imposed a siege on Gaza after Hamas attacked nearby Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 to Gaza as hostages. It has hit Gaza with an aerial and ground campaign that has killed more than 33,000 people, mostly civilians according to the Hamas-run health authority.

Israeli authorities have since allowed some aid in, but the UN and aid agencies say some children have died from malnutrition and famine is looming for a million people.

On Friday White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel was meeting its commitment to open up additional vehicle crossings to Gaza for aid, but it was not enough and the US was continuing to press Israeli officials to do more.

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