Aid begins to enter Gaza as Israel limits deliveries over alleged Hamas truce violations

A convoy of trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies drove through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Egyptian Red Crescent.

The entrance of humanitarian aid to the enclave was paused on Monday and Tuesday due to prisoner and hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas and a Jewish holiday.

The convoy of 400 trucks include 5,700 tonnes of food supplies and flour, more than 1,400 tonnes of medical supplies and equipment, and around 2,500 tonnes of fuel, the Egyptian humanitarian group said.

State-run Egyptian broadcasters showed footage of the convoys as they passed through the crossing point.

The trucks were headed for an Israeli inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing, before being allowed into the Gaza Strip.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, brokered by US President Donald Trump, which came into effect earlier this week, Israel was to permit the passage of 600 trucks carrying aid to Gaza daily, to match pre-war levels.

The Israeli defence body overseeing the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid, COGAT, notified organisations responsible for providing aid that it would only permit half that amount in every day.

It’s not immediately clear if COGAT was following through on threats made by Israel earlier to reduce the amount of aid trickling into the enclave.

Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies as it accused Hamas of releasing the bodies of deceased hostages too slowly.

The Trump-backed deal stipulated that the remains of the 28 dead hostages, along with the 20 living ones, were all to be released by Monday.

COGAT has declined to comment on whether or not the reduced amounts of aid being permitted into the Palestinian territory is related to that, after being asked on the matter by the Associated Press.

Humanitarian groups have called on Israel to immediately abide by the terms of the deal and allow entry of the agreed-upon 600 trucks a day to reach the Strip's 2 million population in dire need of food and resources.

They say the aid is desperately needed to replenish Gaza of critical basic necessities, which it had been deprived of for months, after Israel moved to limit the flow of aid into the enclave to ramp up pressure on Hamas, a move humanitarian groups slammed as a war crime.