AMMAN: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday saw off a first Jordanian truck convoy of aid heading to Gaza through the Erez crossing reopened by Israel.

“Right here in Jordan, we’re seeing a direct route from Jordan to northern Gaza through Erez. The first shipments are leaving today,” Blinken told reporters as he saw the supplies.

“It is real and important progress, but more still needs to be done,” he said.

Aid ship slowly heads for Gaza as calls for assistance grow

Israel, amid rising international pressure, had recently assured it would allow more aid to pass through Erez border gateway with northern Gaza, which is devastated in the nearly seven months of war and is on the brink of famine, according to UN and other aid groups.

The crossing has not been used much since the war broke out on October 7, and Israeli officials have said that it needed to be rebuilt after it was destroyed by Hamas who stormed through it during their attack on southern Israel.