Israel Resumes Transfer of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued instructions for the resumption of humanitarian aid transfer to Gaza Strip for the first time since Operation Guardian of the Walls ended.

The supplies were sent through the Kerem Shalom crossing starting Tuesday morning.

The Erez crossing is also opening, to allow Gazans requiring lifesaving medical treatment, international NGO workers, and foreign journalists to move between Gaza and Israel.

Fishing was resumed starting 6 a.m. today, up to six miles off the coast.

Israeli officials stressed that the decisions were conditional on continued calm and stability from Gaza. Earlier Monday, a high-ranking official in the U.S. State Department said the U.S. would ensure that the goods transferred to Gaza were used to rebuild the region and did not fall into the hands of Hamas.

Simcha Goldin, father of Lt. Hadar Goldin, Hy”d, whose body has been held by Hamas since he fell in battle in 2014, attacked the government’s decision.

“The Israeli leadership has simply lost its moral compass and its ability to distinguish between good and evil. They send supplies to a terrorist organization while it is brutalizing the citizens of Israel and keeping IDF soldiers who set out to fight for and defend their homeland. This is a total loss of values.”

Goldin called on Gantz and IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi to “wake up immediately and recalculate. The people of Israel won’t let this abandonment pass quietly. Bring the soldiers back to Israel immediately.”