After More Than 73 Days Of Siege, Israel To Allow Limited Food Entry To Gaza (image-instagram/mahmoudhamda)

After blocking the entry of food, medical, and fuel supplies into Gaza for more than 73 days, Israel has announced that it would allow limited supplies of food into the battered Palestinian enclave. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the pressure from the allies was behind the move.

However, late the previous evening, his office had said that Israel would permit the entry of some food to Gaza following a “recommendation” from the army. Meanwhile, the announcement has come shortly after killing over 150 people in the last 24 hours as part of the “extensive ground operations” launched by the Israeli military.

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The announcement had come following the repeated pressure on Israel from the international community to lift the two-month-long siege which threatens a widespread famine.

“Israel will allow a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement late on Sunday.

Netanyahu said that, without specifying the countries, “greatest friends in the world” had said that “one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you.”

“Therefore, to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem,” Netanyahu said.

However, he had not mentioned when the entry of the announced “minimal” amount of food supply would resume. The United Nations aid chief, Tom Fletcher, confirming the announcement of Israel, had stated that they have been approached to “resume limited aid delivery,” and added that the discussions are ongoing about the logistics, “given the conditions on the ground.”

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Meanwhile, despite the pressure, Netanyahu’s far-right allies continue to oppose allowing any supplies into Gaza, insisting that the military might and hunger will secure victory over Hamas. The National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, had described the decision as a “grave mistake.”

Israel has been accused of weaponizing hunger and using the blockade for ethnic cleansing in the enclave.