More food trucks entered Gaza per day in the last two weeks than during any other period since the start of the war, KAN11 reported on Wednesday morning.
In the past few weeks, an average of 102 aid trucks entered Gaza each day, with most bringing in food supplies. This contrasts the average of 70 trucks entering Gaza per day before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. This is an increase of approximately 50% in the number of trucks bringing in food to Gaza over the past few weeks. According to the UN, the pre-war number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip stood at around 500 trucks per day.
Despite the increase of humanitarian aid and food trucks through international efforts, Hamas has projected an alternative narrative to the world, claiming that Israel is conducting a "starvation campaign" as part of its "genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza, KAN noted.
Hamas: "starvation campaign" initiated by Israel
According to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the terror organization is "grateful for any initiative to help them [the hungry people in Gaza] and the duty and urgency of reaching sustainable, effective, and influential aid bridges that will end their suffering.
"It is the duty of the Arab and Islamic nation, for the brothers of the besieged and occupied Palestine, to initiate the breaking of the starvation campaign in the northern Gaza Strip."
Much of Hamas's narrative stems from even before the humanitarian aid truck disaster last week in northern Gaza, whereby Palestinians ambushed an aid truck, leading to several Palestinians being trampled to death, KAN reported.
This incident served as Hamas fodder to further implicate Israel in the humanitarian crisis and put pressure on the United States, which has, in recent days, airdropped aid and called on Israel to open additional border entry points for additional aid.
Increasing delivery of aid
Much of the humanitarian aid delivered to the Gaza Strip comes through aid trucks entering through Egypt or airdrops, much of which is supplied by international organizations and coalitions of states.
Aid is becoming increasingly necessary, as the local capacity to produce food, water, and medical supplies has diminished as a result of the war, and is also a result of Hamas terrorists taking control of aid trucks, leading to little distribution to Palestinians in need of dire aid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met in recent days with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, urged Israel to exponentially increase the access and distribution of humanitarian aid in the backdrop of additional ceasefire talks.