Israel to let Egypt deliver some aid to Gaza, as doctors struggle to treat hospital blast victims
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel said Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The first crack in a punishing 10-day siege on the territory came one day after a deadly blast at a Gaza City hospital killed hundreds and put immense strain on Gaza doctors treating the many wounded as medical supplies ran out. The announcement to allow water, food and other supplies happened as rage over Tuesday night’s blast at al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East, and as U.S. President Joe Biden visited Israel in hopes of preventing a wider conflict in the region. There were conflicting claims of who was responsible for the explosion. Hamas officials in Gaza quickly blamed an Israeli airstrike, saying hundreds were killed. Israel denied it was involved and released a flurry of video, audio and other information that it said showed the blast was instead due to a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. Islamic Jihad dismissed that claim. The Associated Press has not independently verified any of the claims or evidence released by the parties. Israel shut off all supplies to Gaza soon after Hamas militants rampaged across communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7. As supplies run out, many families in Gaza have cut down to one meal a day and have been left to drink contaminated water, raising U.N. warnings of the risk of starvation. The al-Ahli carnage threw the siege’s impact into sharp relief. Hundreds of wounded were rushed to another hospital that was nearly out of supplies and fuel for its generators, and doctors performed surgery on the floors, often without anesthesia. Biden said Egypt’s president agreed to open the crossing and to let in an initial group of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid. If Hamas confiscates aid, “it will end,” he said. The aid will start moving Friday at the earliest, White House officials said. Egypt must still repair the road across the border that was cratered by Israeli airstrikes. More than 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid are positioned at or near Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, ready to go through, said the head of the Red Crescent for North Sinai, Khalid Zayed. Supplies will go in under supervision of the U.N., Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al-Arabiya TV. Asked if foreigners and dual
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