Israel to Open Kerem Shalom Crossing to Inspect Gaza Aid Trucks

Jerusalem, 7 December, 2023 (TPS) -- Israel will open the Kerem Shalom Crossing to inspect humanitarian aid trucks in the coming days. However, the trucks must still enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

The Kerem Shalom Crossing, located at the junction of the Gaza Strip–Israel border and the Gaza–Egypt border, has been closed since the start of the war on Oct. 7, which followed a bloody mass assault on southern Israel by Hamas terrorists.

This move is meant to facilitate an increase in aid trucks entering the Strip. Israel currently inspects the trucks at the smaller Nitzana Crossing with Egypt before they make their way to Rafah.

The Rafah crossing is not equipped to handle large numbers of commercial deliveries. Before Oct. 7, commercial deliveries to the Strip from Egypt were routed through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, which is adjacent to the Egypt-Gaza border. The Kerem Shalom crossing has been closed for security reasons since October 7.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved on Wednesday to allow more daily fuel deliveries to the Strip.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Hamas currently holds 137 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.