The Japan Times - Israel PM vows to 'take control of all' of Gaza

With supply shipments blocked by Israel since March 2, the World Health Organization warned Gaza's "two million people are starving".

Israel, facing mounting criticism over the humanitarian crisis, announced it would let limited aid into Gaza and said the first five trucks entered Monday carrying supplies "including food for babies".

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement that nine trucks had been "cleared to enter... but it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who was unable to confirm the number of trucks inside Gaza, said that "none of the aid has been picked up" at a designated zone as it was "already dark" and due to "security concerns, we cannot operate in those conditions".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said aid had resumed because "images of mass starvation" could harm the legitimacy of Israel's war effort.

The leaders of Britain, France and Canada issued a harsh condemnation of Israel's conduct of the war, slamming its "egregious actions" in Gaza, particularly the expanded offensive and the "wholly inadequate" resumption of aid.

They warned of "concrete actions" if Israel did not ease its stepped up offensive. Netanyahu called their joint statement a "huge prize" for Hamas.

A group of 22 countries, including France, Britain, Canada, Japan and Australia said in a joint statement that Gaza's population "faces starvation" and "must receive the aid they desperately need".

- 'Methodical destruction' -

In southern Gaza, the Israeli military issued an evacuation call to Palestinians around Khan Yunis city ahead of what it described as an "unprecedented attack".

Gaza's civil defence agency said 91 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory on Monday.

Netanyahu, in a video posted on Telegram, said that "the fighting is intense and we are making progress".

"We will take control of all the territory of the strip," he added.

Israel's military said on Monday it had struck "160 terror targets" in Gaza over the past day.

Netanyahu said that Israel "will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped", justifying to his hardline supporters the decision to resume aid.

- Famine risk -

Israel has said its blockade aimed to force concessions from Hamas -- whose October 2023 attack triggered the war -- but UN agencies say there are critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

"Tonnes of food is blocked at the border, just minutes away," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid."

Last week US President Donald Trump, a key ally of Netanyahu, acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving".

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir argued against any resumption of aid, saying on X that "our hostages receive no humanitarian aid".

But Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also of the far right, defended the decision, saying it would "allow civilians to eat and our friends in the world to keep giving us diplomatic protection".

- 'Like apocalypse' -

Khan Yunis resident Mohammed Sarhan told AFP that Gaza's main southern city "felt like the apocalypse".

"There was gunfire coming from every apartment, fire belts, F-16 warplanes and helicopters firing," he said.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee called on Gazans in the city and nearby areas to "immediately" leave the "dangerous combat zone".

AFPTV footage from Khan Yunis's Nasser Hospital showed a young boy in a tracksuit being treated as two other boys, both barefoot and bleeding, sat on the floor.

Further north in Deir el-Balah, Ayman Badwan mourned the loss of his brother in an attack.

"We are exhausted and drained -- we can't take it anymore," he told AFP.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead.

Gaza's health ministry said Monday at least 3,340 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,486.

With negotiators meeting in Qatar in recent days, Netanyahu has signalled that Israel was open to a deal that would include "ending the fighting", with all hostages released, Hamas leaders exiled and Gaza disarmed.

M.Saito--JT