The Biden administration repeated its warning that Israel should not attack the city of Rafah, the southernmost city in the enclave, without protections for the more than a million people sheltering there.
As too little aid reaches Gaza by land, a ship left Cyprus carrying rice, flour and other food in what European officials called the possible start of a maritime supply route.
The law sparked lethal riots when it was passed. Now, after a four-year delay, it has come into force on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election campaign.
The German Embassy said it had helped a charity, SOS Children’s Villages International, move nearly 70 children from the city of Rafah to get them “out of acute danger.”
Barack Obama drew one for Syria. George W. Bush drew several, for North Korea and Iran. Now President Biden has drawn one for Israel. The hard part is figuring out what to do when they are crossed.
The maritime package of more than 200 tons of food is a welcome milestone, but not nearly enough to prevent famine, said relief officials, who called on Israel to allow more aid delivery by land.