Aid groups have collected humanitarian aid carried by about 90 trucks, out of a total of nearly 200 that have entered Gaza since Israel began allowing limited goods in earlier this week, the United Nations said Thursday.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Humanitarian agency OCHA, said the trucks that entered carried medicine, wheat flour and nutrition supplies. Aid groups faced significant challenges distributing the aid because of insecurity, the risk of looting and coordination issues with Israeli authorities, Laerke added.
Under international pressure, Israel has allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all food, medicine, fuel and other material for nearly three months. But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
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Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fire two missiles at Israel
The missiles were fired hours apart on Thursday, each time setting off nationwide air raid sirens.
The Israeli military said it intercepted both missiles, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. An Associated Press reporter heard a loud explosion in central Israel that might have been caused by an interceptor.
Israeli police said they were searching the Jerusalem area for debris.
The Houthis have launched repeated missile attacks targeting Israel as well as international shipping in the Red Sea, portraying it as a response to Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Most of the targeted ships had no relation to Israel or the conflict.
The United States halted a punishing bombing campaign against the Houthis earlier this month, saying the rebels had pledged to stop attacking ships. That agreement did not include attacks on Israel.
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France condemns shooting outside Jewish museum in Washington
France’s foreign minister says the killing of two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday “is an abhorrent act of antisemitic barbarity.”
In a post in English on X, the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said: “Nothing can justify such violence. My thoughts go to their loved ones, their colleagues, and the State of Israel.”
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