Israel will allow more aid into Gaza, officials say

People wait in a long line as sacks of flour provided by the United Nations World Food Program are distributed in Gaza City on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Israel has agreed to increase the flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, Israeli and E.U. officials announced on July 10, 2025. (Saher Alghorra/The New York Times)

By Natan Odenheimer, Jeanna Smialek and Isabel Kershner

Israel has agreed to increase the flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in coming days as part of discussions with the European Union, Israeli and EU officials said Thursday.

The EU has pressured Israel in recent months to allow more food and other essential supplies to reach Palestinians in Gaza, where hunger is rampant and most are displaced by the devastating war that began almost two years ago.

A new aid distribution system, backed by Israel and the United States, began operations in late May after Israel blockaded all aid to Gaza for 80 days. The handouts have fallen far short of Gaza’s needs, and have been plagued by violence and chaos.

The decision to increase aid in the coming days was first announced by Kaja Kallas, the top EU diplomat, in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“We have achieved an agreement on very concrete terms: how many trucks will get in, how many crossings will be opened, distribution points so that people would receive help, water distribution,” she said.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, gave additional details at a news conference Thursday in Brussels.

“Significant steps have been agreed by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the commission. The decision was made through Israeli Cabinet resolutions and a “constructive dialogue between the EU and Israel,” he added.

The goal is to ramp up aid in the coming days, El Anouni said, adding that the plan includes provisions to protect aid workers and repair vital infrastructure. He said Israel would allow the opening of additional crossing points into northern and southern Gaza, the reopening of humanitarian aid routes from Egypt and Jordan, and food distribution through bakeries and public kitchens.

Kallas told Bloomberg that there were already improvements, such as getting fuel to hospitals.

An Israeli official said there was no formal agreement with the EU, but Israel decided independently to increase aid to Gaza during a Cabinet meeting Saturday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating civilian affairs with Gaza said Monday that it had reopened an access route into the northern part of the territory following a government directive.

The Israeli official described the decision to increase aid as part of an ongoing dialogue between Israel and the EU, and confirmed that Kallas’ account of expanding access routes for humanitarian operations was broadly accurate. The official said the decision had not been made in response to EU pressure.

A recent review by the EU found that there are “indications that Israel would be in breach” of human right standards and its obligations under an EU treaty, citing issues including food and critical goods restrictions on Gaza.

Aid has been a central sticking point in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The two sides have been engaged in intensive discussions this week, through mediators, on a new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Thursday that a ceasefire depended on the release of people held captive in Gaza who were abducted during the Hamas-led assault on Israel that touched off the war, on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Right now, we are trying to secure the release of half of the living and deceased hostages, in exchange for a temporary, 60-day ceasefire,” he said in a video statement from Washington, D.C., where he met Wednesday with the families of hostages. “At the beginning of that ceasefire, we will commence negotiations on a permanent end to the war.”

He said Israel’s conditions for ending the war had not changed, including completely disarming Hamas and removing it from a role in governing the territory.

Two people familiar with the negotiations said Israel and Hamas appear close to agreeing on a framework for humanitarian aid. They said that most of the relief during the 60-day ceasefire would flow through the United Nations and other international aid organizations.

The Israeli-backed aid system, run by the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, would continue to operate in parts of southern Gaza still under Israeli military control. Israel supported the creation of the new system, saying a new approach was needed to prevent Hamas from commandeering, diverting and profiting from the humanitarian assistance.

But the United Nations and has said that the new system was woefully insufficient to meet the basic needs for the survival of Gaza’s more than 2 million people, after Israel’s total blockade brought the territory to the brink of famine.

Adding to the humanitarian crisis, accessing aid has become chaotic and dangerous.

Israeli authorities have allowed hundreds of truckloads of U.N. aid to cross into Gaza since the blockade was lifted in May. But much of the aid has remained on the Gaza side of the crossings because of the lack of safe routes for distribution inside the territory.

Desperate crowds have been ransacking trucks carrying flour and other goods minutes after they enter the enclave.

Deadly violence has also erupted frequently around the approaches to the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, which are mostly in southern Gaza. Witnesses have reported on a number of occasions that Israeli troops opened fire on people at the approaches to the aid hubs.

The Israeli military has said repeatedly that its forces have fired “warning shots” when people approached its forces in what it described as a threatening manner. The foundation denies that there has been any violence within its compounds.

U.N. representatives said they welcomed Thursday’s announcement about scaling up aid but said they had not been involved in the discussions or informed of the details.

“We are awaiting clarification,” said Tamara Alrifai, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees and has traditionally handled most humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Only the U.N. has the capacity, infrastructure and experience necessary to address the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, she said, describing the situation as “catastrophic.”

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation also said it welcomed any steps to expand access and aid delivery in Gaza, adding that it was “working with the government of Israel to honor its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza.”