UN aid convoy uses new land route from Israel to reach north Gaza

The UN has said that a new land route to deliver food to northern Gaza has been used for the first time in three weeks. 

Six lorries from the World Food Programme crossed via a gate in the Gaza border fence, the Israeli military said. 

The night time delivery was “part of a pilot to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid,” it added. 

The delivery comes amid global pressure to allow more access to Gaza for the delivery of aid amid a looming famine as Israel continues its ground offensive. 

A charity baot carrying 200 tonnes of food aid for distribution also set sail from Cyrus on Tuesday, starting a new maritime corridor into the strip. It is expected to arrive on Thursday off Gaza’s coast. 

Whilst the UN has welcomed the sea route the agency has said “for aid delivery at scale there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza.”

Israel claims there are no limits to the amount of aid that can be delivered to Gaza and blames UN agencies for failing to distribute supplies.