The Israeli security cabinet decided to allow the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday night.
The decision was made without holding a vote, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other ministers being against the move.
Aid will be channeled through several international organizations until the new aid mechanism begins operations on May 24, two senior Israeli officials said. However, other officials denied this, claiming that no aid would be sent to Gaza through existing mechanisms, but only through the new mechanism.
After it became clear to ministers that centers would be for distributing aid not only in the southern Gaza Strip, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded a vote on the decision, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused.
The aid will be distributed not only in the south of the Gaza Strip but also in other areas for a period of about a week, until the companies start distributing only in the south.
No hostages will be released in response to the resumption of aid.
Prime Minister's Office's statement on the decision of aid resumption
"On the recommendation of the IDF, and out of the operational need to enable the expansion of the intense fighting to defeat Hamas, Israel will introduce a basic amount of food to the population in order to ensure that a famine crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip," the Prime Minister's Office said. "Such a crisis would jeopardize the continuation of the 'Gideon Chariots' operation to defeat Hamas.
"Israel will work to deny Hamas the ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian aid to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas terrorists."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized Netanyahu in a post on X/Twitter. "Mr. Prime Minister, there is no humanitarian aid for our hostages," Ben-Gvir wrote on Sunday.
This comes after he posted earlier: "A blueprint for ending the war without a Hamas decision - will not be established and will not exist."