Jerusalem: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the transfer of more than 100 truck-loads of aid into Gaza, his office said, as the army continued pounding the Hamas-ruled territory.
The one-off convoy to the besieged territory includes blood supplies, basic foodstuffs, medical equipment, 10 ambulances and fuel donated by Turkey, Jordan and international organizations, his office said in a statement yesterday.
More than 100 trucks will transfer the goods today through the Karni, Nahal Oz and Kerem Shalom crossings between Israel and the Islamists-ruled territory, it said.
The United Nations special envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry told AFP that Israel had allowed 21 truck-loads of medical supplies and wheat into the impoverished territory yesterday.
Israel launched a massive air offensive in Gaza Saturday that has so far killed nearly 300 people, after militants fired a wave of rockets against southern Israel.
Israel imposed a punishing blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the coastal strip in June 2007,ousting forces loyal to Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas.
British aid agency Oxfam yesterday warned that the Israeli military action risked triggering a humanitarian crisis.
"Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza depend on Oxfam and other international aid agencies for the basics of life -- clean water, food and sanitation," said John Prideaux-Brune, Oxfam Great Britain s country programme manager in Jerusalem.
