Israel’s COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) said on Friday that 276 aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies underwent inspection and were permitted entry into Gaza on Friday, CNN reported.
COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for administering Israeli policy in Gaza and the West Bank, disclosed this information.
#AidforGaza yesterday, Apr. 18:
276 aid trucks inspected and transferred to Gaza.
Airdrops: 144 pallets with tens of thousands of food aid were airdropped over northern Gaza.
Northern Gaza: 110 trucks coordinated, 104 by private sector, and 6 by @WFP via the fence road. pic.twitter.com/6do3iS6c9U
— COGAT (@cogatonline) April 19, 2024
In an official post on X, COGAT disclosed the information while sharing the video of trucks entering Gaza carrying humanitarian supplies.
“Nine trucks of medical aid were coordinated to the Emirati Hospital, and nine trucks of medical aid were coordinated to the ICRC Hospital,” the COGAT statement reads.
According to CNN, in addition, COGAT reported that, besides ground transportation, 144 pallets carrying tens of thousands of aid packages were airdropped into northern Gaza on Friday.
Further, COGAT affirmed that there was increased activity along new routes, with 20 trucks utilising the Jordanian Route and eight trucks transporting flour arriving through the port of Ashdod in Israel.
Israel last week said it had begun to take several major steps to ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza amid intense pressure from the United States, as per CNN.
However, humanitarian officials said progress was slow-going and that much more needed to be done as warnings grew of famine in the Palestinian enclave.
Meanwhile, regarding the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged both sides to cease retaliating after Israel carried out a military strike on Iran, a spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.
“The Secretary-General reiterates that it is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” the statement read.
“The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” it continued.
Besides talking about the casualties, the ministry of health disclosed on Friday that, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 34,012, following more than six months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
In the last 24 hours, 42 Palestinians had died following Israeli attacks, the ministry reported.
A further 63 people had been injured over the same time period, taking the overall number of wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began to 76,833, it said.
Earlier, Israel launched a potentially deadly military strike on Iran on Friday, a US official told CNN.
Although no significant damage was recorded, Iran and Israel have not stated where the strike originated. Iran’s air defence systems were activated in several locations after multiple explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.
The missile launches come after Iran launched an offensive on targets around Israel on Saturday last week, according to Israeli military authorities, in which the nation fired a barrage of over 300 unmanned drones and missiles.
