Dozens of trucks of humanitarian aid for Gaza still sitting at border entry

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 21, 2025 7:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into Gaza, but the assistance has not yet reached Palestinians successful hopeless need, according to assistance groups.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday evening that though the assistance has entered Gaza, assistance workers were not capable to bring it to organisation points wherever it is astir needed, aft the Israeli subject forced them to reload the supplies onto abstracted trucks and workers ran retired of time.

Internal notes circulated among assistance groups Wednesday and seen by The Associated Press said that nary humanitarian trucks had near Kerem Shalom, the borderline crossing successful confederate Gaza that is operated by Israel. The notes said 65 trucks moved from the Israel broadside of the crossing to the Palestinian side, but hadn't made it into Gaza.

The Israeli defence assemblage that oversees humanitarian assistance to Gaza said trucks were entering into Gaza connected Wednesday morning, but it was unclear if that assistance was capable to proceed into Gaza for distribution. The UN bureau for Palestinian refugees said they waited respective hours to cod assistance from the borderline crossing successful bid to statesman organisation but were incapable to bash truthful connected Tuesday.

Pope Leo XIV connected Wednesday appealed for Israel to let humanitarian assistance to participate Gaza, calling the concern "yet much worrying and saddening."

"I renew my fervent entreaty to let for the introduction of just humanitarian assistance and to bring to an extremity the hostilities, the devastating terms of which is paid by children, the aged and the sick," the caller Pope said during his archetypal play wide assemblage successful St. Peter's Square.

Hospitals successful Gaza accidental Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday killed astatine slightest 45 people, including respective women and a week-old infant. The caller strikes travel arsenic Israel's warfare connected Hamas shows nary signs of relenting, contempt a surge successful planetary choler astatine Israel's widening offensive.

Israeli troops person besides surrounded 2 of bluish Gaza's past functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving oregon entering the facilities, infirmary unit and assistance groups said this week.

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14 from aforesaid household killed

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued to lb the territory. Hospitals successful Gaza accidental Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday killed astatine slightest 45 people, including respective women and a week-old infant.

In the confederate metropolis of Khan Younis, wherever Israel precocious ordered caller evacuations pending an expected expanded offensive, 24 radical were killed, 14 of them from the aforesaid family. A week-old babe was killed successful cardinal Gaza.

The Israeli subject did not instantly remark connected the strikes but has said it is targeting Hamas infrastructure and accused Hamas militants of operating from civilian areas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas connected Wednesday urged satellite leaders to instrumentality contiguous enactment to extremity Israel's siege connected Gaza, issuing the entreaty during a sojourn to Beirut.

"It is clip to extremity the warfare of extermination against the Palestinian people. I reiterate that we volition not leave, and we volition stay present connected the onshore of our homeland, Palestine," Abbas said, demanding the contiguous introduction of aid, the merchandise of detainees, and a afloat withdrawal from Gaza.

On Tuesday, the U.K. suspended escaped commercialized talks with Israel implicit its intensifying assault, a measurement that came a time aft the country, on with Canada and France promised factual steps to punctual Israel to halt the war. Separately, European Union overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas said the bloc was reviewing an EU pact governing commercialized ties with Israel implicit its behaviour of the warfare successful Gaza.

Kallas and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were among those demanding answers from Israel for a abstracted incidental connected Wednesday, arsenic a radical of diplomats came nether occurrence portion visiting Jenin, a metropolis successful the Israel-occupied West Bank. The diplomats, which included a high-ranking Italian official, were connected a ngo to observe the humanitarian concern successful Jenin, which has been the tract of Israel's wide crackdown against West Bank militants since earlier this year.

The Israeli subject said the delegation "deviated from the approved route" and Israeli soldiers fired informing shots to region them from the area. The subject apologized and said they volition interaction each of the countries progressive successful the visit.

Kallas said firing adjacent informing shots was unacceptable and called connected Israel to investigate.

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No breakthrough successful Qatar-hosted talks

Israel says it is prepared to halt the warfare erstwhile each the hostages taken by Hamas instrumentality location and Hamas is defeated, oregon is exiled and disarmed. Hamas says it is prepared to merchandise the hostages successful speech for a afloat Israeli withdrawal from the territory and an extremity to the war. It rejects demands for exile and disarmament.

Israel called backmost its elder negotiating squad from ceasefire talks successful the Qatari superior of Doha connected Tuesday, saying it would permission lower-level officials successful spot instead.

The warfare successful Gaza began erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians including respective Canadian citizens, and abducting 251 others. The militants are inactive holding 58 captives, astir a 3rd of whom are believed to beryllium alive, aft astir of the remainder were returned successful ceasefire agreements oregon different deals.

Israel's retaliatory offensive, which has destroyed ample swaths of Gaza, has killed much than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate betwixt civilians and combatants successful its count.