Eight trucks of flour from the World Food Program (WFP) entered the Gaza Strip from the port of Ashdod on Wednesday. The trucks entered via the Kerem Shalom crossing point in the south of Palestinian territory.
Israel is under pressure from many capitals to let more aid into Gaza, where the conflict has lasted for more than six months. The war cabinet approved several measures in early April to "avoid a humanitarian crisis" in the territory, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The use of the port, one of the largest in the country, to deliver aid to the Palestinians was a recurring request from the U.N. A PAM official estimated in March that it would be “much more efficient” to go through this port than through Jordan or Egypt, the Israeli army said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday morning. The operation follows a "government directive" from the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.