Israel said yesterday that it has stepped up efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, 276 trucks with food and medicine traveled to the war-torn coastal region, as announced yesterday, Friday, by the Israeli service COGAT which is in charge of Palestinian affairs and humanitarian aid.

The same day, 144 pallets of food were airdropped. Another 700 trucks passed through security checks and were waiting behind the checkpoint Kerem Shalom in the Gaza Strip, in order for United Nations aid organizations to take over the distribution of supplies, in accordance with COGAT.

A total of 100 trucks have brought humanitarian supplies to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where according to humanitarian organizations the needs are greatest.

Only six trucks crossed the new crossing into the northern Gaza Strip. According to Israeli security sources, this passage is not suitable for transporting larger loads.

In the face of the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the US and other Western allies, as well as the United Nations, have repeatedly called on Israel to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.

Humanitarian organizations stress that there is little improvement. However, very few trucks continue to reach the Gaza Strip and ongoing hostilities prevent safe, comprehensive aid distribution, according to these organizations.

In the meantime, the United Nations is warning of the dangers posed to health and the environment by the huge amounts of waste piled up in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said yesterday that the waste – about 270,000 tonnes – cannot be removed as many waste trucks in Gaza have been damaged by Israeli attacks or are out of fuel.

In addition, the Israeli army has not given access to the main waste disposal site in the eastern part of Gaza City. The displacement of residents in the southern part of the Gaza Strip has resulted in the volume of waste there more than doubling, according to OCHA, while local authorities are unable to manage the problem.