Israel will begin allowing private, local merchants to bring in goods to Gaza to reduce “reliance” on the UN and international organizations. 

The Israeli security cabinet decided to expand the scope of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, approving a mechanism to gradually renew the entry of goods through the private sector in Gaza.

The move is meant to “increase the volume of aid” entering the Gaza Strip, while “reducing reliance” on aid collection by the UN and international organizations, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

COGAT announced that a “limited number of local merchants were approved subject to specific criteria and security screening” and that the goods will include basic food products, baby food, fruits and vegetables, and hygiene supplies. 

“Payments for the purchase of these goods will be conducted via bank transfers only, under a monitoring and oversight mechanism. All goods will undergo thorough inspection,” it said. 

Canada meanwhile announced it became the latest country to airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

The Canadian armed forces “employed a CC-130J Hercules aircraft to conduct an airdrop of critical humanitarian aid in support of Global Affairs Canada into the Gaza Strip. The air drop consisted of 21,600 pounds of aid,” the Canadian government said. 

On Monday, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium also air-dropped aid, amounting to 120 packages containing food. 

While the UN has called on aid to only enter through land crossings due to safety concerns, Western and Arab nations have consistently used the method since Israel decided to increase humanitarian efforts. 

On Monday, nearly 250 trucks’ worth of aid was collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations in Gaza.

A UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, slammed the efforts, calling it “insufficient for the starving population” while stressing that UN convoys continue to face “impediments.”

Israel has said there is no limit to the amount of aid that can enter Gaza while the UN and other NGOs decry Israeli restrictions on permits for trucks and lack of safe routes. 

UN trucks have, however, largely been looted in the past two months. According to data from the UN, 2,606 trucks were collected from Gaza border crossings in the period between May 19 and July 31, but 2,310 were “intercepted” by “hungry people” or “armed actors.”

Footage of trucks hijacked by heavily armed Palestinians circulated on social media in the past couple of weeks. Footage has also shown hundreds of civilians storming and overtaking trucks with aid inside Gaza.