Israeli FM says country fully endorses US aid plan for Gaza

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israel´s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the country has fully endorsed US President Donald Trump´s aid plan for Gaza, laid out by the American envoy to Israel.

Israel has blocked aid from entering the Palestinian territory since early March, a move aid groups say has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicine.

Despite fears of looming famine, Israel has denied a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza and said the blockade would place pressure on militant group Hamas, who sparked the war in Gaza with its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

“Israel fully endorses the Trump Administration´s plan presented on Friday by US Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Mike Huckabee,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul.

Saar commended the plan, saying that it would allow aid to reach civilians while directly by-passing Hamas, which he accused of stealing aid and using “it to feed its war machine”.

“During this war, Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza and facilitated it but Hamas stole that aid from the people,” the Israeli minister said.

“If the aid continues to go to Hamas and not to the people of Gaza, the war will continue forever,” he added.

Wadephul said the German government would support the plan “if it is a means to ensure adequate humanitarian supply”. However, he stressed that “the great human suffering is worsening every day” in Gaza.