Preparations were also underway Sunday for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Preparations were underway Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war.
The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering Gaza Strip is expected to ramp up on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.
Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.
The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops. In recent months, the U.N. and its partners have been able to deliver only 20% of the aid needed in Gaza because of the fighting, border closures and Israeli restrictions on what enters.
Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory.
The United Nations has said that it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza once Israel gives the green light.Gaza Humanitarian Fund future in question
The fate of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and U.S.-backed contractor that replaced the U.N. aid operation in Gaza in May as the primary food supplier in Gaza, remains unclear.
Food distribution sites operated by the group in the southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza were dismantled following the ceasefire deal, several Palestinians said Sunday.
Hoda Goda, who used to go to the GHF sites in Rafah earlier this year, said people had dismantled the structures and taken wood and metal fences GHF workers used to control the crowds.
Another Palestinian, Ehab Abu Majed, said the site in eastern Khan Younis was also dismantled, and there was no food distribution in the past two days. Ahmed al-Masri, a man living in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, said a third site in the Netzarim corridor area was also dismantled.
GHF had been touted by Israel and the United States as an alternative system to prevent Hamas from taking over aid. However, its operations were mired in chaos and hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while heading to its four sites.
