Tel Aviv, 17 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israel opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Israeli authority COGAT, which is responsible for coordinating activities with the Palestinian territories, said.

"Starting today, UN aid lorries will undergo security checks and be transferred directly to Gaza via Kerem Shalom, to abide by our agreement with the US," COGAT wrote on X.

The authority also shared a picture of lorries lined up in a row. It was initially unclear whether the lorries had already moved across the border at Kerem Shalom on Sunday.

The opening is intended to increase the daily amount of humanitarian aid reaching the Gaza Strip, COGAT said.

In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area, Israel has recently come under increasing international pressure - including from the United States, its closest ally.

The security cabinet in Israel provisionally authorized the opening of the border crossing in southern Gaza last week. The aim is to reduce the strain on the Egyptian Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Kerem Shalom was used as a goods crossing into Gaza before the war.

Photo: Wikipedia