The Israeli military informed the government that Israel must resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, regardless of military operations conducted by the army following the resumption of hostilities or the stalemate in negotiations over a prisoner exchange agreement. This follows a halt in humanitarian aid deliveries for more than five weeks.

Over the past week, the army command held discussions about bringing in aid, and the Israeli government was informed that "the stage is approaching where it is inevitable to resume the supply of food, fuel, and medicine to the Strip, unless we want to risk deliberately violating international law and placing the responsibility on the shoulders of the officers of the army's Southern Command, the army command, and the political echelon," Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

The newspaper added that Israel may bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip within a few weeks, after government approval. The Israeli military claims it has brought large quantities of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, and that this amount will be sufficient for the next several weeks.

The World Food Programme announced on Sunday that all 25 bakeries it supports in Gaza have closed due to fuel and flour shortages, as a result of the Israeli closure of the crossings to humanitarian aid for more than a month. The programme said that current food supplies at its hot meal kitchen in the Gaza Strip "can suffice for less than two weeks," but noted that "one hot meal provides 25 percent or less of a person's daily nutritional needs."

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces executed 15 Palestinian rescue workers in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, shooting them in the chest and head before burying them in a mass grave last week.

While human rights, governmental, and international organizations have warned of the repercussions of the continued Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinians' plunge into a state of severe hunger, Israeli security sources claimed that "there is no hunger or the beginning of epidemics in Gaza, but we are 40-50 days away from a situation in which food stores are emptied," according to the newspaper.

The newspaper quoted Israeli military sources as saying, "The situation will worsen when the intense military operation in Rafah begins, and food supplies will run out in areas where we will fight again. The humanitarian clock is ticking, and it's clear we will have to resume aid even without international pressure."