Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing opens to expand options for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza

Israel opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing this past Sunday to allow additional humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to a statement from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

This is the first time the junction between Israel and the Gaza Strip has been opened since the Oct. 7 massacre when Hamas terrorists and their accomplices invaded Israel and brutally attacked the local population in southern border communities.

Until this week, all of the aid into Gaza has needed to enter via Egypt’s Rafah Border Crossing. Israel had begun to screen convoys at Kerem Shalom crossing to help with traffic congestion, however, the aid trucks were still forced to return to Egypt before they would be allowed to enter the coastal enclave.

The Israeli government approved the passage of aid directly through Kerem Shalom last Friday, in response to the “urgent security need” to increase deliveries “beyond what [Egypt’s] Rafah crossing can accommodate.”

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan welcomed Israel’s decision to open Kerem Shalom Crossing in an official statement, saying the move “was an important topic of discussion” during his visit to Israel last Friday.

“President Biden raised this issue in recent phone calls with [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Sullivan added. Washington is hoping the Keren Shalom crossing would help ease congestion and facilitate the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid.

Israel has consistently emphasized that the current war in Gaza is against Hamas terrorists and accomplices, not against civilians. Israel permitted fuel to enter Gaza on Nov. 15 despite Hamas siphoning the fuel for its military purposes.

On Nov. 14, Israel Defense Forces offered to coordinate the transfer of incubators to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, despite an Oct. 27 announcement from IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said that  “hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide” after the terror attack on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military has taken measures to avoid casualties among innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza. For example, on Dec. 8, Israel had identified and published the locations of some 150 shelters in Gaza where civilians could find shelter during Israeli airstrikes. The IDF designated al-Mawasi as a safe zone and did not strike the coastal area even after Hamas fired rockets from the area on Dec. 7.

On December 1, the IDF published an interactive map, showing the Gaza Strip divided into numbered blocks so it could continue to notify civilians about which areas it would target. Arabic-language flyers are also dropped into Gaza to inform residents which areas the IDF will target next.

Despite Israel’s efforts to protect innocent civilian life, Hamas terrorists continue to put the lives of Gazans at risk, according to the IDF and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Members of the FDD stated a warning regarding Israel’s decision to bring aid into Gaza directly from the Jewish state in light of the ongoing war challenges and especially because of Hamas interference which has prevented some of the aid from reaching Gazan civilians.

FDD Senior Director of the Israel Program and National Security Network Enia Krivine stated: “Israel opened the Kerem Shalom to increase aid to the people of Gaza with the full knowledge that Hamas will surely take the lion’s share of whatever assistance is sent into the enclave.”

“Over 130 hostages remain in Gaza and have had no contact from the Red Cross in over 70 days,” she continued, adding that Hamas has murdered at least 20 Israelis in captivity.

“Despite Hamas’s abhorrent terror tactics, Israel is allowing humanitarian aid to flow through the crossing to alleviate the suffering of Gazan civilians, making it clear that this war is against Hamas and not the people of Gaza.

Joe Truzman, FDD research analyst stated: “While providing aid to Gaza is undoubtedly a necessary and just act, it is disheartening to witness how Hamas consistently exploits innocent civilians and misappropriates these crucial resources for its own benefit.”

In a published brief on Wednesday, the FDD made a statement that members of Hamas in Gaza systematically continue to put “Palestinians in harm’s way."

“Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields and prevent Gazans from seeking shelter. In October, mosques in Gaza broadcast messages telling civilians to stay put despite IDF instructions to flee south in advance of Israel’s ground offensive. On October 14, the IDF published imagery showing that Hamas had established a physical roadblock to prevent civilians from reaching safety,” according to the brief, which also stated that three tunnel shafts and machinery for building rockets were discovered near a school administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Dec. 17.