Since the beginning of March, Israel's government has blocked aid deliveries to the war zone.

After nearly three months of blockade, the Israeli government plans to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip again. A basic supply of food should ensure that no famine occurs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced. Such a crisis would jeopardize the continuation of the new major offensive to crush the Islamist Hamas group, it said. After days of massive air strikes, Israel has now also deployed ground troops.

Since the beginning of March, Israel has stopped allowing aid deliveries into the sealed-off coastal region, which has suffered extensive devastation after more than a year and a half of war. The country accuses Hamas of reselling the aid to finance its fighters and weapons. Gaza's approximately 2.2 million residents are almost entirely dependent on outside aid for their survival.

The UN and aid organizations are warning of famine; appeals to Israel have recently become increasingly vehement. According to several media outlets, the lifting of the blockade is primarily due to pressure from the US. "We do not want to see a humanitarian crisis, and we will not allow one to occur under President (Donald) Trump's leadership," US special envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News. The US is Israel's most important arms supplier. It was initially unclear when the first aid supplies would return to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Air Force has been conducting massive attacks in the Gaza Strip for days. Over the weekend, the army also began a large-scale deployment of ground troops. According to Palestinian sources, there have been numerous deaths. According to eyewitnesses, numerous people are currently fleeing from the north to the south of the coastal region. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, all hospitals in the north are now out of service. Israel's army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It accuses Hamas of entrenching itself in hospitals and using them for military purposes.

Both Israel and Hamas sent delegations to Qatar's capital, Doha, on Sunday to negotiate a new ceasefire deal with Arab mediators. The US news site Axios reported, citing an Israeli official and another source, that Witkoff presented both warring parties with an updated proposal that would release ten hostages in exchange for a 45-60-day ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The proposal includes new wording stating that the ceasefire could lead to an end to the war, it was reported. The wording is intended to guarantee Hamas that Netanyahu cannot unilaterally declare the ceasefire over and restart the war. Israel's negotiating team in Qatar is "exhausting every possibility" for a hostage agreement, either in accordance with Witkoff's plan or within a framework to end the war, Netanyahu's office said on Sunday, according to the Times of Israel.

In addition to the release of all hostages, however, the prerequisite for this is that Hamas goes into exile and the people in the coastal region are disarmed. Netanyahu is thus signaling a new willingness to discuss a way to end the war, the Wall Street Journal wrote. Only recently, the Israeli prime minister emphasized that while a temporary ceasefire is possible, a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza is not.

According to Israeli media reports, after the blockade is lifted, aid supplies for the suffering population will reach the sealed-off coastal strip via the previously used routes until a planned new mechanism is implemented. Israel will take measures to prevent the aid from falling into the hands of Hamas, Netanyahu's office further stated.

Aid deliveries will now initially be provided by international organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Central Kitchen, as the news portal "walla.co.il" reported. A new mechanism is scheduled to take effect at the end of the month, but it is not without controversy. According to reports, supplies will then only be distributed from a few locations in the Gaza Strip. The UN had criticized the new mechanism, among other things because civilians are caught in the crossfire on their way to the distribution centers, and the elderly and sick, for example, are unable to reach them at all.

The Gaza War began in October 2023 with a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 53,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the war, which has lasted more than a year and a half. This figure does not distinguish between combatants and civilians and is difficult to independently verify.