JERUSALEM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced on Wednesday the launch of a new route to supply humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Ashdod Port, in response to international warnings of the catastrophic hunger in the Palestinian enclave.
With the new route, aid trucks undergo security screenings at the Ashdod Port in southern Israel, and then enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. Located in the triangle of borders between Israel, Gaza and Egypt, Kerem Shalom was the main passage for goods between Israel and Gaza before the war.
According to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces, eight World Food Program (WFP) trucks carrying flour entered the Gaza Strip via the new route on Wednesday.
Ashdod lies about 40 km north of Gaza's northern border with Israel. The new measure enables large volumes of aid bound for Gaza from a maritime route to be unloaded and inspected at the Ashdod Port.
Shimon Friedman, a spokesman with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, said in a video statement from Ashdod that the new route enhances the capacity for aid delivery into Gaza. He referred to it as "part of the new phase of Israel's humanitarian campaign. There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid we are willing to facilitate." ■
