CAIRO, April 7. /TASS/. The delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip may be resumed without the radical Palestinian movement Hamas and the Israeli side reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in the enclave, the Al Hadath TV channel reported.
According to its sources, the Israeli side is ready to resume the flow of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza "even without a deal [with Hamas]." The delivery of humanitarian goods to the region will be "carried out in a new way" by which supporters of the radical movement will not be able to get them at their disposal, the news outlet specified.
The final decision on this issue must be taken and approved by the Israeli side "at the political level," the TV channel said.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas reached an Egypt-, Qatar-, and US-brokered three-stage agreement to release the hostages held in Gaza and declare a ceasefire in the enclave. The deal took effect on January 19. During the first phase, which expired on March 1, Hamas returned 33 hostages, including those who died, in exchange for over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention.
On March 2, Israel suspended the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and closed all checkpoints, explaining it by Hamas' refusal to accept the proposals to extend the ceasefire deal put forward by mediators and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff. On March 18, the Israeli army began striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), about one million Palestinian children are currently suffering due to Israel's ban on humanitarian aid to the enclave. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the Israeli military denied entry to more than 80% of aid deliveries intended for the enclave in March. The UN World Food Program (WFP) said "hundreds of thousands" of people in Gaza are at risk of starvation and malnutrition due to Israel's blockade of all aid entering Gaza.