TEL AVIV, April 5. /TASS/. Israel’s security cabinet issued a temporary permission for humanitarian deliveries to the Gaza Strip via the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing in the north of the Palestinian enclave, the Kan radio reported.

The cabinet, which brings together heads of Israel’s key ministries, also decided to allow more Jordanian aid deliveries into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeastern part of the Palestinian enclave.

US President Joe Biden held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 4. According to Kan, the conversation was tense, and the White House’s message, delivered during the 50-minute conversation was extremely tough. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters later in the day that Biden gave Netanyahu to understand that if the situation in the Gaza Strip remains unchanged, Washington will have to review its Middle Eastern policies.

According to a White House statement, the US leader "made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers." He also made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by Washington’s assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking hundreds hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out retaliatory strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire that had taken effect on November 24 and resumed combat operations in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians held the US responsible for the renewed Israeli aggression.