WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday said 66 trucks of humanitarian assistance entered Gaza in the last 24 hours and that dozens more are expected to be cleared for deliveries.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that President Joe Biden would speak later with Jordan’s King Abdullah for discussions about Gaza.
Kirby said the level of truck aid deliveries so far is “just a fraction” of how much is needed in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave under siege by Israel in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants. Officials would like to reach up to 100 a day, Kirby said.
Kirby had no comment on a large blast at a Gaza refugee camp, saying he had no information on it. But he said “killing civilians is not a war aim” of Israel and that Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties.
Humanitarian pauses in fighting could be of value, he said, but “there has to be credible support on both sides” in favor of such pauses.
Aid trucks have been trickling into Gaza from Egypt over the past week via Rafah, the main crossing that does not border Israel.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; editing by Grant McCool)
