With the UN warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza, humanitarian organisations had repeatedly requested full access to Israel’s Ashdod port, some 20 miles (30km) away, to no avail.
Now, in a major change of policy, Israel’s security cabinet has decided to temporarily open it up for aid deliveries.
The nearest entry point to Gaza, the large Erez crossing, will also be opened for the first time since the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October, and the amount of aid from Jordan moving through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza will increase.
The steps were quickly announced following a half hour call between President Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just days after an Israeli strike killed a team from the US charity, World Central Kitchen.
Biden has now threatened to rethink his backing for Israel’s war efforts in Gaza if it doesn’t change its tactics.
The US gives vital military supplies and acts as a diplomatic shield for Israel on the world stage – but recently, divisions have grown between the two allies.