Middle East updates: Israel says 120 aid trucks enter Gaza

• The Israeli government has said that more than 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Egypt during a ten-hour pause in fighting.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is meeting with top advisors as Berlin comes under mounting pressure to take a stronger stance on Israel's conduct.
• Two Israeli human rights NGOs are presenting on a report on Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

Here are the latest headlines from Gaza, Israel, and the wider Middle East on Monday, July 28:

07/28/2025July 28, 2025

Israeli rights NGOs to hold press conference on Gaza investigation

Representatives of B'Tselem, also known as the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) are due to present their latest report on the war in Gaza later on Monday.

B'Tselem is a Jerusalem-based organization that focuses on human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, and has expressed criticism of the Israeli government's policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

07/28/2025July 28, 2025

120 aid trucks have entered Gaza: Israel

The Israeli government has said that 120 aid trucks having been allowed to enter Gaza, coinciding with a ten-hour pause in military operations in some areas, such as Al-Malawsi and Deir al-Balah.

Last week, international criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza reached a fever pitch as news of mass starvation, particularly of children, continued to circulate. There was also hefty criticism of the US-run and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), one of the few aid organizations that was allowed to operate during Israel's months-long blockade, due to the reports of killings of hundreds of people waiting for aid at their distribution points.

The UN welcomed the news, a week after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called what was happening in Gaza a "horror show...without parallel in recent times."

The body's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said: "We welcome Israel's decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys."

Fletcher cautioned, however, that it still wouldn't be enough "to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis," before adding: "And no more attacks on people gathering for food."

07/28/2025July 28, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Israel has announced a ten-hour pause in military action for Monday following an increasingly widespread global outcry over the mass starvation in the enclave, which has been under a months-long blockade of aid by the Israeli military.

The Security Cabinet of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet on Monday afternoon to discuss Berlin's position on Gaza and Israeli conduct there.

Also on Monday, two Israel-based NGOs are expected to present their findings after an independent investigation on rights abuses in Gaza.