Israel Opening Aid Routes to Gaza After Biden’s Threat to Netanyahu

Israel says it will open aid routes into Gaza as part of efforts to boost the amount of humanitarian support entering the enclave.

The announcement early Friday came just hours after a tense phone call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden condemned the recent killing of aid workers and general humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to the White House, and gave Netanyahu an ultimatum: implement “specific, concrete” steps to alleviate the crisis and protect civilians, or run the risk of the U.S. changing its policy towards Gaza.

After the dramatic call, Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s security cabinet had approved taking immediate steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. They include temporarily allowing Israel’s port in Ashdod to be used for processing aid shipments and the reopening of the Erez crossing in the north of the strip. The heavily fortified land crossing was destroyed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.

Read more at The Daily Beast.