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Israel announced Wednesday that it had opened the Zikim crossing into northern Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid provided by the United Nations and other international organizations.
“Today, the Zikim crossing has been opened for the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip,” said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for coordinating civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, in a statement on X.
A COGAT spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the crossing would now remain open “permanently,” similar to the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, through which most aid has passed since the war began in October 2023.
COGAT said humanitarian aid entering Gaza through Zikim, the main access point to the territory’s heavily affected north, would be subject to standard Israeli security inspections before being dispatched by the U.N.
The U.N.’s World Food Programme had reported in late October that it had been unable to collect cargo in north Gaza since the crossing’s closure on Sept. 12.
Humanitarian organizations have said aid delivery into Gaza is complicated by extended Israeli security checks and restrictions on the entry of many items.
Once inside the enclave, efforts to distribute aid are further hindered by extensive infrastructure damage and the risk of looting.
“The opening of direct crossings to the north is vital to ensure that sufficient aid reaches people as soon as possible,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a recent situation report.
In August, the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) confirmed famine conditions in northern Gaza, though COGAT disputed the findings.
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