Hamas says working to ensure entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza under ceasefire deal

By Mohamed Majed and Rania Abu Shamala

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) – A senior Hamas member said Saturday that his group is coordinating with other parties to ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza under a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement that Hamas remains committed to “mobilizing all resources and efforts to serve and aid our people in the Gaza Strip, despite the massive destruction left by the Israeli genocide and the total collapse of normal life in the enclave.”

“Hamas continues communication with various friendly countries and parties to guarantee the entry of aid and relief to Gaza,” he said.

Rishq said his group is also working to ensure Israel’s compliance “with all terms of the ceasefire agreement in a way that secures recovery, reconstruction, and a dignified life for all our Palestinian people.”

The first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel took effect on Friday. The agreement allows the entry of hundreds of aid trucks into the enclave to help avert famine among the territory’s 2.4 million population.

Palestinian sources, however, told Anadolu that a large number of aid trucks were not allowed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south on Saturday, and remained under Israeli army control.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that the amount of aid reaching Palestinians so far “was within the usual rate of recent months and did not see any exceptional increase under the ceasefire agreement.”

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,600 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.