7:55 p.m. ET, April 4, 2024
Israeli cabinet approves reopening of Erez crossing and use of Ashdod port for aid into Gaza, official says
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Nikki Carvajal
The Israeli security cabinet on Thursday approved the reopening of the Erez crossing between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks, an Israeli official told CNN.
The reopening is to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, the official said.
The cabinet also approved using the Israeli Port of Ashdod to help transfer more aid to the enclave.
Land crossings into Gaza, through which the bulk of vital aid has traditionally entered the territory, remain heavily restricted by Israel.
Aid agencies have accused Israel of throttling the entry of relief into the war-ravaged territory, though Israel has said it has “no limit” on the amount of relief that can enter.
Before the war started, Israel restricted all access to and from Gaza by sea and air, and kept land crossings under tight control. It had
two functional crossings with the enclave: Erez, which was for the movement of people, and Kerem Shalom, for goods.
Gaza also has one crossing with Egypt, at Rafah, which is run by Egyptian authorities. While Israel has no direct control over this crossing, it monitors all activity in southern Gaza.
Reaction: The opening of the crossing would be “welcome news” and “certainly in keeping” with what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Joe Biden on Thursday, White House national security adviser John Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Kirby said he hadn't seen the new reporting, “but if it's true that certainly in keeping with what we heard from the prime minister today in terms of announcements they would be making in coming hours and days about opening up crossings, making it more accessible for humanitarian aid organizations to get food, water, medicine, and fuel into the people of Gaza.”
This post has been updated with comments from John Kirby.