Blinken said to abandon plan to oversee aid delivery into Gaza after Israeli protesters block trucks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to abandon a visit to Gaza’s border to oversee aid deliveries because Israeli protesters were blocking shipments of food into the territory, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Mr Blinken has faced fierce criticism from humanitarian groups and European allies in recent days after the US froze funding for UNRWA, the largest aid agency on the ground in Gaza, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing an escalating hunger crisis and risk of famine.

It comes amid reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his military to prepare for an invasion of Rafah, the last refuge in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands fled to at the orders of the invading army.

The secretary of state’s trip to the Kerem Shalom crossing was reportedly planned so that he could evaluate the passage of much-needed aid into Gaza. But it was abandoned due to the presence of protesters linked to extremist settler groups who have been disrupting aid shipments into the beleaguered territory for several weeks.

The protesters have demanded that no food enter Gaza until hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the 7 October attacks are released. Deliveries havealso been blocked by the Israeli army, which inspects all aid trucks going into Gaza.

A “preparatory tour” of the crossing by Israeli police, army, foreign ministry representatives and members of Mr Blinken’s security detail had taken place ahead of the planned visit, according to Haaretz, which cited several people familiar with the planning. On the day of the tour, however, protesters managed to block nine trucks from entering.

When Israeli police couldn’t guarantee that they would be able to stop the protesters