UN authorized to begin large-scale Gaza aid with 600 trucks daily

Israel has given the United Nations permission to begin delivering a large-scale humanitarian aid operation into the Gaza Strip starting Sunday, clearing roughly 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, shelter items and fuel that have been staged in neighboring countries, UN officials said. The move follows a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that includes provisions for a prisoner exchange and an initial Israeli withdrawal, and it aims to ease acute shortages affecting nearly two million people in the enclave.

Under the agreement, Israeli authorities and UN partners have agreed to increase the daily volume of trucks entering Gaza to as many as 600, UN and Israeli officials said. Egypt also said it would send 400 trucks on Sunday; consignments will be screened by Israeli forces at inspection points such as the Kerem Shalom crossing before entering Gaza. The Rafah crossing with Egypt is expected to reopen with staff from the Palestinian Authority and the European Union among those present, according to UN officials involved in the talks.

UN representatives stressed that getting supplies into Gaza is only the first step. Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesperson,...