Israel allows trucks from newly reopened Erez crossing into Gaza after US pressure

Israel reopened the sole crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, allowing aid trucks to pass through the Erez checkpoint following US demands to do more to address the growing humanitarian crisis.

Reopening the Erez crossing has been one of the main pleas of international aid agencies for months to alleviate hunger in the northern part of the Strip. 

The Israeli government opened the crossing point on the day of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for more humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory.

Erez crossing closed since October 7

The Erez crossing, primarily used for foot traffic, had remained closed since it was destroyed during Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

Israel announced it would reopen Erez last month, a few days after the killing of World Central Kitchen workers.

Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of Israel's Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza, said he hoped the crossing would be open every day, and help reach a target of 500 aid trucks entering Gaza daily. That would be in line with pre-war supplies entering the enclave and far more than it has received during the last seven months.

"This is only one step of the measures that we took in the last few weeks," he told reporters.