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Monday, April 8, 2024
US says 300 aid trucks that entered Gaza yesterday are a ‘good start,’ but need more
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says Israel’s facilitation of over 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza yesterday is “progress” and a “good start,” but that the US wants to see the number pass 350 in the coming days and then increase further.
Some 500 trucks entered Gaza each day before October 7, when the humanitarian need was much less significant.
Kirby reiterates during a press briefing that the US welcomes the steps Israel has taken to expand aid into Gaza, including plans to open the Erez Crossing and Ashdod Port, but says these moves need to be implemented and the uptick in aid must be sustained for long periods of time.
Israel says there has never been a limit on the amount of aid the distribution of which into Gaza it is prepared to facilitate, but the fact that the day that saw the largest number of trucks enter Gaza came days after international uproar over the IDF’s deadly strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy suggests otherwise.
The White House is still reviewing Israel’s initial probe into the strike last week that killed seven WCK staffers, Kirby says.
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