Israel to use two crossings to help screen humanitarian aid for Gaza: IDF

Tel Aviv [Israel]: Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Monday that Israel is increasing the speed at which humanitarian aid is inspected and sent into Gaza. Israel will use two crossings to help screen humanitarian aid for Gaza, said the IDF.

It further said that security screenings of trucks containing water, food and medical supplies will be conducted at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom Crossings.

According to IDF, the trucks will then be forwarded to international aid organisations in Gaza through the Rafah crossing in Egypt. It stressed that the decision has been taken to improve the volume of security screenings of aid entering Gaza through the Rafah Crossing and enable Israel to double the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

On X, the IDF stated, “Israel is increasing the speed at which humanitarian aid is inspected and sent into Gaza: integrated security screenings of trucks containing water, food, medical supplies and shelter equipment will be conducted at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom Crossings.

“The trucks will then be forwarded to international aid organizations in Gaza via the Rafah Crossing in Egypt. This is being done to improve the volume of security screenings of aid entering Gaza via the Rafah Crossing and will enable us to double the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. We emphasize that no supplies will be entering Gaza from Israel, but rather all aid will enter through the Rafah Crossing,” it added.

The IDF made the announcement in response to a video posted by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

In a statement, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said, “Following a security consultation, a decision was made today (Monday), to conduct integrated security screening at the Nitzana Crossing and the Kerem Shalom Crossing.”

In a video posted on X, COGAT spokesperson Shan Sasson said beginning Tuesday, Kerem Shalom crossing will open for security checks on aid shipments from El-Arish, the Egyptian town where much of the aid for Gaza is assembled, according to CNN report.

“The simultaneous security checks at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings will double the volume of aid delivered through the Rafah crossing and admitted into the Gaza Strip,” Sasson said.

COGAT said, “The decision was made in order to improve and upgrade the capabilities and volume of security screening of the humanitarian aid being admitted into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing in Egypt,” according to CNN report.

Authorities said that trucks containing water, food, medical supplies and equipment for shelter will be screened at both crossings. However, COGAT added that “no supplies will be entering the Gaza Strip from Israel and that all the humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip will continue to enter via the Rafah crossing in Egypt.”

The Nitzana crossing is nearly 50 kilometers from Rafah. In recent days, 60-100 trucks have been using Rafah crossing to enter Gaza, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that the war against Hamas in Gaza will end after Israel achieves its goals, The Times of Israel reported. He said that the Hamas’ Jabaliya and Shejaiya battalions in the northern Gaza Strip are on the “verge of being dismantled.”

While addressing a press conference, Gallant said, “The war will end when its goals are achieved. I take into consideration everything the US asks and says, and take seriously, along with all the members of the cabinet, what America is doing.”He further said, “We will find a way to help the Americans help us.”

Asked about potential new hostage deal with Hamas, Gallant stated that he believes that there will be more offers for hostage deals if Israel increases military pressure, The Times of Israel reported.

He said, “I believe that if we increase the military pressure, there will be offers for more hostage deals, and if there are offers, we will consider them.”Gallant said that Israel forces have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabaliya and Shejaiya. He stated that hundreds of Hamas operatives have surrendered to Israeli troops in recent days, which he stresses “shows what is happening” to the terror group.

He said, “We have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabaliya and Shejaiya, the battalions that were considered invincible, that prepared for years to fight us, are on the verge of being dismantled.”

Gallant said, “Whoever surrenders — his life is spared,” adding that among those who have been arrested by the IDF are terrorists who participated in the October 7 terror attack on Israeli communities. He added, “They are telling us very interesting things.”